Churches in Naples

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“What seemed most extraordinary to us in Naples is the number and magnificence of its churches; I can tell you without exaggeration that it is far beyond the imagination. "

- Maximilien Misson , Nouveau Voyage d'Italie (Amsterdam 1743).
Certosa di San Martino , Naples

Among churches in Naples , especially buildings of are here historical and artistic interest meant that over a period of the early Christian arose period until the first half of the 19th century. According to historiography and the most reliable sources, there are about half a thousand. The Neapolitan churches form a rich legacy of art , architecture , culture and intellectual history that has developed over seventeen centuries: it is not for nothing that Naples is called "the city of five hundred domes ". Other sources, however, believe that their number goes far beyond this (especially if one also includes places of worship such as those in the great cemetery of Poggioreale , which are not infrequently missing in state censuses or corresponding surveys).

history

The Basilica di San Giovanni Maggiore with its early Christian apse

The first Christian churches in Naples back to the period shortly after the Edict of Milan by Constantine the Great in 313 back.

Various types of early Christian traces can be found in the city: the most common are remains such as frescoes or other items, e.g. B. in the hypogeum of much younger Baroque churches, or those in which the early Christian architecture is merged with subsequent architectural and artistic currents, an important example of this is the Basilica di Santa Restituta , which today belongs to the cathedral ; the crypt of Santa Maria della Sanità also goes back to an early Christian church. There are also examples of almost intact early Christian churches in some of the catacombs of Naples.

The Basilica di San Pietro ad Aram is one of the oldest early Christian churches . Although it was later rebuilt in other styles, it is still strongly influenced by its origins, which is particularly evidenced by its underground structures, which have strictly preserved the art and architecture of late antiquity . The case is similar with San Giorgio Maggiore , which has a rare example of a complete ancient apse inside . Finally, there is the Basilica of San Giovanni Maggiore , which has the remains of a pre-existing pagan temple in the apse and was one of the most important places of worship in the city along with San Giorgio Maggiore as early as the 6th century.

Apse with deambulatorium in Gothic style of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore

Only a few of the churches from the early Middle Ages and the Romanesque era have survived. As for the Gothic , the most prominent example is the Basilica of Santa Chiara , which, with its elegant Provençal Gothic style and a nave that is around 130 meters long and 45 meters high, is the largest Gothic building in the city. However, the church was almost completely destroyed in World War II and in its current form is a reconstruction. Gothic grave monuments from various dynasties or noble families have been preserved inside. Another landmark is the Church of San Domenico Maggiore , which was built according to the classic Gothic canon, but was later redesigned in the Renaissance and Baroque styles . The church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, on the other hand, represents a successful mixture of the French Gothic with the Franciscan ideal of style; it too was later given baroque accents. At San Pietro a Majella, attempts were made to restore the original simple appearance through a restoration at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, with the exception of the baroque ceiling. One of the best-preserved and most interesting Gothic churches is San Giovanni a Carbonara , which also has significant elements of the Renaissance.

Under Alfonso V of Aragon , Naples was transformed into one of the most important cities of the Renaissance. The artistic and cultural ties to Florence led to a partial change in the architectural structure of the city. This is particularly evident in the Gesù Nuovo church , which, with its classic diamond cuboid facade, is one of the first examples of Renaissance elements in Naples. Another important example is the church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi (also known as: Santa Maria di Monteoliveto ), which clearly shows the influence of similar buildings in Florence with its large chapels and a central floor plan. Also worth mentioning is the small church of Santa Maria del Parto a Mergellina with the grave of the Renaissance poet Jacopo Sannazaro .

A clear influence of Mannerism can be found in Santi Severino e Sossio and Gesù delle Monache , even if both churches were later baroque. Santa Maria la Nova and San Gregorio Armeno both have extraordinary late Mannerist coffered ceilings .

Frescoes by Lanfranco and Domenichino in the dome of the Cappela di San Gennaro in the cathedral

The monumental churches of Naples are particularly often presented in baroque garb. The most important architects of the Neapolitan Baroque include Giovan Giacomo Di Conforto , Fra Nuvolo , Bartolomeo Picchiatti and his son Francesco Antonio Picchiatti , Cosimo Fanzago and Dionisio Lazzari . Domenico Antonio Vaccaro , Arcangelo Guglielmelli , Ferdinando Sanfelice and Nicola Tagliacozzi Canale worked in the late baroque period . The numerous altar paintings, especially those from the 17th century, were directly or indirectly influenced by Caravaggio ; the most important painters in Naples were Jusepe de Ribera , Massimo Stanzione , Battistello Caracciolo , Bernardo Cavallino , Luca Giordano , Francesco Solimena , Nicola Malinconico and others. a. The frescoes painting played from the late 16th century to the late 18th century a central role in the decoration of churches; it was initially under the influence of the Cavalier d'Arpino and was shaped from around 1630 by the students of Carracci , Domenichino and Lanfranco . Belisario Corenzio , Paolo De Matteis , Luca Giordano, Giovanni Battista Benaschi , Francesco Solimena, Francesco de Mura and others were among the most famous and busy frescoes who left their mark on many churches in Naples . a. From 1600 or 1610 and in the decades to come, numerous baroque churches were built in Naples, often decorated with rich polychrome marble or stucco decorations; this typical Neapolitan style of decoration was decisively influenced by Cosimo Fanzago. The Certosa di San Martino , one of the largest religious complexes in Naples, is one of the greatest and most important examples of this Neapolitan Baroque.

Another important baroque jewel of Naples is the famous Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro in the Cathedral of Naples : its marble, frescoes, paintings and other works of art were created by the best artists of the time, the paintings of the dome and ceiling are by Lanfranco and Domenichino, sculptures, decorations and architecture by Neapolitan artists.

The Basilica of San Francesco di Paola

The “younger” churches in the city include those from the Classicism period . They can be divided into two different categories: the first include those that are basically still influenced by the late baroque, the second include churches whose interiors and / or facades embody classicism in absolute and strict purity. Two important exponents of early classicism are Ferdinando Fuga and Luigi Vanvitelli . The greatest example and one of the most important “neoclassical” churches in all of Italy is the Basilica di San Francesco di Paola , which was realized by Pietro Bianchi .

Churches in the historic center of Naples

The following religious buildings - the Certosa di San Martino , the basilicas and the “great” churches ( chiese maggiori ) - are all located in the historic center with the exception of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Neve by Ponticelli and the Church of San Giuseppe Maggiore dei Falegnami . Buildings are also mentioned that are not (any longer) churches or chapels in the actual sense, but which are interesting as a building and sometimes little known. There are e.g. B. some churches that are "orphaned" as places of prayer, since they have meanwhile been deconsecrated , that is, abolished, but which in any case also represent important evidence of the historical religious architecture of Naples . There are also religious buildings of particular historical interest.

The Cathedral

The Charterhouse

Basilicas

The Santa Chiara basilica
The Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore

The name basilica in the following listing is based on data from the Archdiocese of Naples .

"Bigger" churches ( Chiese maggiori )

Gesù Nuovo

The addition of " maggiore " (= larger) to many of the church buildings mentioned below is not to be understood as a title given by the current Roman Catholic Church , but:

  • partly dates back to Neapolitan history, when some churches were officially given the addition “ maggiore ” because they were actually the most important places of worship in the city at that time: partly this additional designation has been retained to this day, for example with the church of San Giorgio Maggiore .
  • The term “ maggiore ” can also indicate a church of major religious, historical etc. status , such as E.g. at the church Gesù Nuovo , also known as Trinità Maggiore , or at the Chiesa dei Girolamini , also known as Chiesa Maggiore . Of the latter in particular, there are few sources mentioning it by this name and it seems that it refers solely to its size, and also to distinguish it from the Oratorio dell'Assunta (which belongs to the same complex).
  • In the case of the church of “ San Giuseppe Maggiore ”, the main name of the current structure is actually “ San Diego all'Ospedaletto ”: in this case the second name was given to San Giuseppe Maggiore in memory of an earlier place of worship, which, however, was in the era of fascism was destroyed.
Chiesa dei Girolamini
San Domenico Maggiore

There are also several basilicas recognized by the archdiocese which, in addition to the honorary title basilica, also use the superlative " maggiore ": such as B. the Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore . Incidentally, the term “ maggiore ” does not necessarily indicate an objectively superior condition of the building compared to other “smaller” churches, whose historical, artistic and cultural significance can in some cases be even greater than that of some larger churches or Basilicas. Examples are the churches of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi , Sant'Angelo a Nilo , Santa Caterina a Formiello , etc.

Chapels

Churches in the historic city center of Naples

San Gregorio Armeno
Gesù Vecchio
Santi Severino e Sossio
Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini
Santa Maria la Nova
Santa Maria Egiziaca a Forcella
Chiesa della Pietà dei Turchini
Santa Teresa a Chiaia
Chiesa di San Domenico Soriano
Chiesa di San Ferdinando
San Michele Arcangelo
San Nicola alla Carità
Chiesa di San Pietro a Majella
Sant'Anna dei Lombardi
Sant'Anna di Palazzo
Santa Brigida
Santa Caterina a Formiello
Santa Maria della Carità
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco
Santa Maria di Costantinopoli
Santa Maria di Monteverginella
Santa Maria Donnaregina Nuova
Santa Maria Donnaromita
Santa Maria Regina Coeli
Santa Teresa degli Scalzi

So-called complessi religiosi

Complesso di Santa Lucia Vergine al Monte
Monte di Pietà

Oratorios

Oratorio dell'Assunta in the Complesso dei Girolamini

Sacristies

Christian buildings outside the historic center of Naples (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Ce qui nous a paru le plus extraordinaire à Naples, c'est le nombre et la magnificence de ses églises; je puis vous dire sans exagérer que cela surpasse l'immagination »: Maximilien Misson, Voyage d'Italie , Edition augmentée de remarques nouvelles et intéressantes, Amsterdam, Clousier, 1743, tome 2, p. 90 ( original text , text in Italian ).
  2. ^ Enzo Striano: The rest of Nothing , Loffredo ed., Salerno 1996. ISBN 88-8096-422-4
  3. ↑ La chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore a Napoli. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
  4. ↑ AA. VV .: La basilica di San Giovanni Maggiore , (Church leader published by the Archdiocese of Naples), Fondazione Ordine Ingegneri, Naples, 2012.
  5. ^ Enrico de Rosa: Alfonso I d'Aragona, il re che ha fatto il Rinascimento a Napoli , D'Auria M. editore, 2007. ISBN 978-88-7092-280-6
  6. ^ R. Middleton, D. Watkin: Architettura dell'Ottocento , Martellago (Venezia), Electa, 2001, p. 292
  7. ↑ Alenapoli Tour: San Francesco Di Paola ( Memento from May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

bibliography

  • Vincenzo Regina: Le chiese di Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spiriturale della Napoli sacra , Newton e Compton editore, Naples 2004.
  • Francesco Domenico Moccia e Dante Caporali: NapoliGuida-Tra Luoghi e Monumenti della città storica , Clean, 2001
  • Nicola Spinosa (scientific director), Gemma Cautela, Leonardo Di Mauro, Renato Ruotolo: Napoli sacra. Guida alle chiese della città , Naples 1993–1997.
  • Gennaro Aspreno Galante : Guida sacra della città di Napoli , 1872 (new edition: Solemar Edizioni, Mugnano di Napoli, 2007).
  • Maria Caputi: Napoli rivelata. Gli spazi sacri del centro antico , D'Auria M. Editore, 1994. Codice EAN 9788870920970

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