Description
The Duomo of Naples, the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, is where the rite of the liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius, the city's patron, is repeated three times a year. It stands on Via Duomo, in the historic center, and beneath the Gothic church hides much older basilicas and excavations.
The neo-Gothic facade, finished in 1905 to a design by Errico Alvino, incorporates three Gothic portals from the early fifteenth century. Inside, the central nave has a gilded wooden ceiling from the seventeenth century and walls rich with saints painted by Luca Giordano.
The heart of the cult of Saint Januarius is the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, built after a vow made to the saint during the plague of 1526. It is a Baroque triumph, with paintings by Lanfranco, Domenichino and Ribera, and it holds the saint's ancient reliquary bust, from 1305.
Alongside opens the Basilica of Santa Restituta, built in 334 by Bishop Zosimus on the ruins of a temple of Apollo, with the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte next to it, the oldest in the West. Beneath the church the Succorpo is a Renaissance marble crypt with a coffered ceiling.
Below you walk among the excavations: Greek walls, a road, early Christian floors and Roman cisterns.
The Duomo proper was begun in 1290, at the wish of Charles II of Anjou, with French architects. It was dedicated to the Assumption in 1314. Since then earthquakes and restorations have remade it several times: in 1349 the bell tower and facade collapsed.
Inside, the Duomo has Baroque chapels and a presbytery whose high altar is surmounted by the Assumption by Pietro Bracci, from 1739, inspired by Bernini's Chair of Saint Peter. The cathedral is about 48 meters tall up to the cross and is a national monument: it incorporates two other buildings, as side chapels.
In 1322 a great bronze equestrian statue that stood in front of the church was melted down. It was said that Virgil had carved it with a spell and that it cured sick horses: a cardinal could not stand those beliefs and had it destroyed. The bronze went to the bells.
Don't miss
• The Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro.
• Santa Restituta and the baptistery.
• The Succorpo.
• The excavations under the Duomo.
Did you know?
• The Chapel of the Treasure was born from a vow of the Neapolitans during the plague of 1526, not from the Curia.
• The right-hand door opens only on special occasions, such as the feast days of San Gennaro.
The neo-Gothic facade, finished in 1905 to a design by Errico Alvino, incorporates three Gothic portals from the early fifteenth century. Inside, the central nave has a gilded wooden ceiling from the seventeenth century and walls rich with saints painted by Luca Giordano.
The heart of the cult of Saint Januarius is the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, built after a vow made to the saint during the plague of 1526. It is a Baroque triumph, with paintings by Lanfranco, Domenichino and Ribera, and it holds the saint's ancient reliquary bust, from 1305.
Alongside opens the Basilica of Santa Restituta, built in 334 by Bishop Zosimus on the ruins of a temple of Apollo, with the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte next to it, the oldest in the West. Beneath the church the Succorpo is a Renaissance marble crypt with a coffered ceiling.
Below you walk among the excavations: Greek walls, a road, early Christian floors and Roman cisterns.
The Duomo proper was begun in 1290, at the wish of Charles II of Anjou, with French architects. It was dedicated to the Assumption in 1314. Since then earthquakes and restorations have remade it several times: in 1349 the bell tower and facade collapsed.
Inside, the Duomo has Baroque chapels and a presbytery whose high altar is surmounted by the Assumption by Pietro Bracci, from 1739, inspired by Bernini's Chair of Saint Peter. The cathedral is about 48 meters tall up to the cross and is a national monument: it incorporates two other buildings, as side chapels.
In 1322 a great bronze equestrian statue that stood in front of the church was melted down. It was said that Virgil had carved it with a spell and that it cured sick horses: a cardinal could not stand those beliefs and had it destroyed. The bronze went to the bells.
Don't miss
• The Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro.
• Santa Restituta and the baptistery.
• The Succorpo.
• The excavations under the Duomo.
Did you know?
• The Chapel of the Treasure was born from a vow of the Neapolitans during the plague of 1526, not from the Curia.
• The right-hand door opens only on special occasions, such as the feast days of San Gennaro.