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| San Domenico Spire |
In the square in front of San Domenico Maggiore is the San Domenico Spire.
Sometimes referred to as the plague obelisk, though there is more than one
plague obelisk in Naples. Built over a
period of 70 years beginning in 1658, it refers to the plague of 1656. I read
that it commemorates St. Domenico who interceded on behalf of Naples by being
miraculous and performing the miracle of making the plague go away by brining a
freak snowstorm to town.
The carving is rather restrained, only four giant crowned cartouches and
four cherubs. Only four cherubs? No idea how the designer could live with
himself with only four cherubs. The shaft of the obelisk has bas relief
grotesques and the whole ensemble is topped off with a bronze statue of San
Domenico doing Dominican things.
It makes quite a spectacular exclamation mark along the Via Benedetto Croce, which we continued to traverse on our way to the Piazzetta del Nilo. Which is just as it sounds, the little Nile Piazza
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