Description
Mergellina is a corner of Naples, in the Chiaia district, between the seafront and the slopes of Posillipo. A little harbor, a church dug into the tuff, fountains, scenic ramps and a holiday history that begins with the Romans.
The little harbor used to belong to the fishermen; today it is the tourist heart of the area. In summer, hydrofoils leave from the Molo Luise for the Aeolian Islands, the Pontine Islands and Ischia.
In Piazza Sannazaro stands the Fountain of the Siren, erected in 1869 by the sculptor Onofrio Buccini. Born in the gardens of the station, it was moved here in 1924 and today is a characteristic feature of the place.
The Sant'Antonio ramps, behind the square, were built in 1643 at the wish of the viceroy Ramiro Felipe Núñez de Guzmán. They climb to the church of Sant'Antonio a Posillipo and open up the view over the gulf.
The church of Santa Maria del Parto was founded in 1504 by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro, on land donated by King Frederick I of Aragon. The lower part, dug into the tuff, was completed in 1525. Sannazaro is buried there.
Here is the painting of the Devil of Mergellina, the Saint Michael driving out the devil by Leonardo da Pistoia, from 1542. The devil has a woman's face, and the panel gave rise to a Neapolitan proverb.
"Si bella e 'nfama comm'o riavule 'e Margellina," it says: you are beautiful and wicked like the devil of Mergellina. According to legend, Cardinal Diomede Carafa, besieged by a noblewoman in love with him, had himself painted as Saint Michael and her as the devil.
It used to be something else. Between 1869 and 1883 the land reclamation works moved the shoreline: the old Via Mergellina, which ran along the sea, became an inland street. In the 1930s the seafront was extended as far as Via Posillipo.
There is no agreement on the name Mergellina: it might come from a diving bird, from the Latin for "clear sea" or from a word for coral. Perhaps the coast of Posillipo was once rich in coral.
The little harbor used to belong to the fishermen; today it is the tourist heart of the area. In summer, hydrofoils leave from the Molo Luise for the Aeolian Islands, the Pontine Islands and Ischia.
In Piazza Sannazaro stands the Fountain of the Siren, erected in 1869 by the sculptor Onofrio Buccini. Born in the gardens of the station, it was moved here in 1924 and today is a characteristic feature of the place.
The Sant'Antonio ramps, behind the square, were built in 1643 at the wish of the viceroy Ramiro Felipe Núñez de Guzmán. They climb to the church of Sant'Antonio a Posillipo and open up the view over the gulf.
The church of Santa Maria del Parto was founded in 1504 by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro, on land donated by King Frederick I of Aragon. The lower part, dug into the tuff, was completed in 1525. Sannazaro is buried there.
Here is the painting of the Devil of Mergellina, the Saint Michael driving out the devil by Leonardo da Pistoia, from 1542. The devil has a woman's face, and the panel gave rise to a Neapolitan proverb.
"Si bella e 'nfama comm'o riavule 'e Margellina," it says: you are beautiful and wicked like the devil of Mergellina. According to legend, Cardinal Diomede Carafa, besieged by a noblewoman in love with him, had himself painted as Saint Michael and her as the devil.
It used to be something else. Between 1869 and 1883 the land reclamation works moved the shoreline: the old Via Mergellina, which ran along the sea, became an inland street. In the 1930s the seafront was extended as far as Via Posillipo.
There is no agreement on the name Mergellina: it might come from a diving bird, from the Latin for "clear sea" or from a word for coral. Perhaps the coast of Posillipo was once rich in coral.