This guided tour will lead you to discover the astonishing Church of Gesù Nuovo, Santa Chiara Museum Complex and San Domenico Maggiore, all located at the heart of Naples’ old town. The tour will end on a tasty note, with Neapolitans’ favorite street food: “Pizza a portafoglio” (folded like a wallet).
Located in the Gesù Nuovo square, the Church of Gesù Nuovo (New Jesus) is one of the most important churches in Naples. As you may guess form the unique façade in bugnato style, the church was originally a Palace built in 1470 for Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno. A century later, it was sold to the Jesuits, who turned it into a church.
Once inside, you will find an explosion of Renaissance and baroque style, with works of artists such as Francesco Solimena, Luca Giordano and Cosimo Fanzago. The two side chapels cherish silver ex-votos, representing body parts, which are placed by worshippers in gratitude for healing received. One of the side chapels houses the remains of San Giuseppe Moscati, an Italian doctor, scientific researcher, and university professor canonised in 1987.
Santa Chiara is the largest Gothic church in the city, based on early 14th century project of King Robert the Wise and his wife Queen Sancha Majorca of the Angevin Dynasty (1266 – 1442). Apart from the tomb of Kind Robert the Wise, sculpted by Pacio and Giovanni Bertini in 1343, the church houses the tombs of the Bourbon king of Naples, Francis II and his consort Maria Sophie of Bavaria, as well as those of Queen Maria Christina of Savoy and of the national hero Salvo d'Acquisto, a carabiniere who sacrificed his life to save the lives of 22 civilian hostages during the Nazi occupation.
Just behind the church, visitors can admire the famous cloister (chiostro) adorned in hand painted Neapolitan ceramic tiles by Donato and Giuseppe Massa. From there you can reach the Museum of the Works, housing a fine collection of sculpture, pottery, reliquaries and decorative art that survived the WWII bombings.
The complex also houses a collection of Nativity Scenes (also known as Christmas Cribs) from the 1700s.
San Domenico Maggiore, built by the Angevins (1238 – 1324), includes part of the old church of San Michele Arcangelo a Morfisa, which dates back to the 10th century and was officiated by Basilian monks and late by Benedictine monks. An earthquake and fire in the 15th and 16th centuries seriously damaged the Church, then in 1670 the new Baroque taste was imposed on the older Gothic style.
The monastery annexed to the church has been the home of prominent names in the history of religion and philosophy. It was the original seat of the University of Naples, where Thomas Aquinas, a former member of the Dominican community there, returned to teach theology in 1272.
Artistically, the most notable feature are the frescoes by Pietro Cavallini in the Brancaccio Chapel (1309), depicting Stories of St. John the Evangelist, Crucifixion, Stories of Magdalene and the Apostles Peter, Paul and Andrew.
The sacristy houses 45 sepulchers of members of the royal Aragonese family, including that of King Ferdinand I. The remains of the Blessed Raymond of Capua, a former Master General of the Dominican Order, also rest there.