San Severo Fuori le mura
| Chiesa di San Severo fuori le mura, Basilica di San Severo fuori le mura, Catacomba di San Severo
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| Patronage : | Saint Severus of Naples |
| Address: | Piazzetta San Severo a Capodimonte, Naples |
Coordinates: 40 ° 30 ′ 50 ″ N , 14 ° 9 ′ 2 ″ E
San Severo fuori le Mura ( Italian , Saint Severus Outside the Walls ) is the name of a church with an attached Franciscan monastery in Naples , in the Sanità district , on the small triangular piazzetta San Severo a Capodimonte. The catacomb of the same name under the church with its early Christian frescoes is one of the most important in the city, and the Cappella di Sant'Antonio dei Bianchi belonging to the church is a jewel of the Neapolitan Baroque .
history
Severus was one of the early bishops of Naples , his term of office lasted from 363 to around 409. He had four churches built, including the Basilica di San Severo outside the former city walls ( fuori le mura ), which he himself chose as the place of his tomb. The church is still sometimes referred to as the “basilica”, although it does not have an official title .
After the remains of the city saint San Gennaro (Januarius) were stolen, all other relics of saints and bishops that were kept outside the city walls were brought to safety in the city, and therefore the relics of St. Severus were also transferred from here the church of San Giorgio Maggiore . Therefore, from the 9th century onwards, the church and the catacombs of St. Severus were abandoned by believers and pilgrims , similar to those of Saints Gennaro and Gaudiosus .
The current church was built in 1573 at the request of Archbishop Mario Carafa and renovated in 1680 by the architect Dionisio Lazzari .
After a restoration phase , the church was reopened in spring 2017; the work concerned in particular the dome and the facade. The piazzetta was also renovated and, together with the Church of San Severo, is now an important meeting place in the surrounding area. The church is also the seat of the Sanitansamble orchestra and a recording studio for the music label Apogeo Records - two musical initiatives for children and young people.
description
church
The facade is typical of Neapolitan baroque churches, two-storey and structured by Corinthian pilaster strips . The entrance portal is covered by a rounded tympanum , above it a window and a triangular gable at the top . Above the portal and between the pilasters are frescoes in grisaille style inlaid, with portraits of St. Severus and the Saints Francis and Anthony . During the restoration, which was completed in 2017, the facade was painted in white (pilasters, beams, etc.) and "strawberry pink" (in the background areas).
The interior corresponds formally to a Latin cross , with three chapels on each side. The room is relatively simple. The apse , which is relatively narrow, angular and small in the lower area, is unusual , but in the upper area opens to a wide gallery with a high choir , in the middle of which the historical organ (by Carlo and Nicola Mancini, 1780) in its partially gilded baroque case stands. This spatial solution is an idea by Dionisio Lazzari.
In the presbytery there are two paintings by Paolo De Matteis from 1709 with depictions of the Visitation of Mary and a Rosary Madonna ; both pictures are originally from the Chiesa del Divino Amore .
Above the marble main altar is a painting by Dirk Hendricksz , a Madonna and Child and Saints Severus, Ludwig, Franziskus and Antonius, next to it in the two niches two stucco statues with Saints Louis of Toulouse and Anselmus, which are attributed to Giuseppe Scarola who have favourited the stucco work Luise Lago.
In the left aisle there is a marble relief of a Madonna and Child from the 17th century; Works by Leandro Carcano ( Annunciation ) and Pietro Lambertucci ( The Apostles Peter and Paul ) are also noteworthy .
The catacombs can be reached through an entrance in the third chapel on the left.
Cappella di Sant'Antonio dei Bianchi
In 1621, the Arciconfraternita dei Bianchi ("Arch Brotherhood of Whites") acquired the Cappella di Sant'Antonio from the monks , as a place for meetings, festivals and as a burial place for its members. The chapel was subsequently turned into a baroque jewel with stucco decor and a total of 23 paintings, including works by Luca Giordano, Francesco Fracanzano , Domenico Vaccaro , as well as Andrea Vaccaro , Giovan Battista Spinelli and Giacinto Diano . On the side walls alone there is a cycle of 12 paintings with scenes from the life of St. Anthony . Four large pictures on the ceiling: The Eternal God the Father , the Virgin Mary with Child and Saints , a Maria Immaculate and Saint Francis of Assisi .
Catacomba di San Severo (Catacomb)
The Catacomb of San Severo dates back to the 5th century and was rediscovered in 1867 by Gennaro Aspreno Galante in 1867. What remains of the original catacomb is a square room that was carved directly into the tuff . Various changes have been made over the centuries, one side of the room has even been demolished to make way for a house.
Three arcosolias are still visible, two of which are in a fairly good state of preservation, while the frescoes of the third are almost indecipherable .
The front arcosolium at the entrance shows the remains of a fresco with the image of St. Protasius on a dark green background. There are drawings and copies of the original state, and another figure has been identified by Galante as the martyr Gervasius: this is the oldest representation of the two martyrs from Milan, from the 5th century, and even older than the mosaics in the Milanese church San Satiro.
On the left arcosolium you can see a 'gem-studded' cross with two saints, the younger of the two could be St. Ambrose , the older St. Severus: it is testified that the two saints met each other in 391 and that they exchanged letters. The outer part of the arcosolium is decorated with floral motifs and birds and with a figure called Sanctus Evtyches .
In the central arcosolium five figures can be seen: in the middle a young man with an open codex in his left hand, and next to him a total of four saints, of which the two directly adjacent are the apostles Peter and Paul. The two outer figures are believed by some experts to be Saints Gennaro and (again) Severus.
The catacombs are currently not open to the public (as of 2018).
See also
- Churches in Naples
- San Lorenzo Maggiore (Naples) , another church with archaeological excavations in Naples
- Santa Maria della Sanità , another church with the Catacombs of San Gaudioso in the Sanità district, Naples
- Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco , church with hypogeum in Naples
literature
- Vincenzo Regina: Le chiese di Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spirituale della Napoli sacra (= Tradizioni italiane. Volume 34). Newton e Compton editore, Naples 2004, ISBN 88-541-0062-5 (Italian; limited preview of the 1995 edition in the Google book search).
Web links
- The Chiesa di San Severo fuori le Mura on the website napoligrafia.it (Italian; source for this article)
- Information about the church and the catacombs of San Severo fuori le mura on the Catacombe di Napoli website (Italian; source for this article)
- Chiesa di San Severo fuori le mura on Facebook
- San Severo fuori le mura on the storiacity.it website (Italian)
Individual notes
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j The "Chiesa di San Severo fuori le Mura" on the website Chiesa di San Severo fuori le Mura. In: napoligrafia.it, accessed on November 18, 2018 (Italian).
- ↑ a b Information about the church “San Severo fuori le mura” on the storiacity.it website , accessed on November 18, 2018 (Italian).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "San Severo fuori le mura" on the Catacombe di Napoli website , accessed on November 18, 2018 (Italian).