Porta Capuana
The Porta Capuana is a city gate built in 1484 in Naples ( Italy ), near the Castel Capuano .
Building history
Despite the name, the portal is not the ancient gateway to the Decumanus maximus , the most important east-west road that once led from Naples in Rome to Capua , about 30 km north . When the city was expanded to the east in the 15th century as part of the construction of the new Aragon city walls under King Ferdinand I of Aragon , the original gate was moved to its current location in 1484. When the city walls were later torn down, the gate remained free as a triumphal arch . Both Charles VIII of France and Charles of Bourbon entered the city through this gate.
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In the course of time, the land vacated by the demolition of the city walls had been built on by houses. A chronicler of Naples in 1847 describes the atmosphere as follows:
“Today is like yesterday, as always… always the same hell, the same shops, of goods, of trade, of traffic, of different people. A language babel. Those who really want to get to know the Neapolitan plebs in all their habits, in their virtues and vices ... come to Porta Capuana at any time of the 24-hour day and learn from them ... Porta Capuana is the universal theater, it is our cosmopolis People ... There is neither night nor day here. "
The residential buildings surrounding the gate were laid down in the 1930s, which made the gate's representative character clear again. During this work, a niche in the gate was removed and the original appearance of the Aragonese era restored. Photographs from this period also show that the statue of St. Kajetan was moved to its current location outside the gate. In addition to its defense and traffic function, the area around the gate also had cultural significance: at the beginning of the 20th century, the Latin Quarter was built , a meeting place for Neapolitan artists.
description
The architect and sculptor Giuliano da Maiano , who was also responsible for the construction of the neighboring Porta Nolana 500 m south , was inspired by the triumphal arches of Roman tradition, without neglecting the actual defensive function. Between two mighty towers (which symbolize honor and virtue) made of volcanic rock ( called Piperno in Naples ) , which was quarried in a quarry in the nearby Phlegraean Fields , is the actual portal made of white Carrara marble in the Renaissance style . The surrounding frieze is flanked by two fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals . The sculptures show trophies , flying goddesses of victory and other images of triumph. On the entablature is the coat of arms of Charles V from 1535, which was placed there on the occasion of his visit to the city. In the niches on both sides stand the patron saints of the city, Januarius and Agnellus . The marble reliefs above symbolize the war; the two angels bear the coat of arms of the House of Aragon. On the occasion of a severe plague epidemic in the 17th century, the city administration protected access through the Porta Capuana (as with other gates to the city) by adding an aedicula with a fresco of the Virgin and Child and some saints on its upper part . Today this aedicule has disappeared. Further towers of the former city fortifications are located in the adjacent streets, but are partly built over or are in poor condition. Immediately next to the inside of the gate is the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello , a typical example of the Neapolitan Renaissance.
The Porta Capuana is well preserved.
Individual evidence
- ^ Antonella Orefice, Porta Capuana, Monitore Napoletano, April 12, 2011.
