Naples - Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria Maggiore 

Unfinished baroque facade on
S. Maria Maggiore

From the piazza in front of San Domenico a short walk in the right direction will lead you to the Piazza Luigi Misaglia (I have no idea who he is when he’s at home) from the take a right and walk north westish on the Via del Sole on your right will be the very old looking Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore, and an even older looking bell tower (funny after research discovered the reverse is true, but they are both very old). At some point during the renaissance baroque era someone decided to remodel the facade. The got up to the second story and then it just sort of stops. It's still an interesting play of light and shadow with the columns and the staircase that has this fluid rounded edge that is almost architecturally perfect.

First the Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore: Built in 533 it is one of the oldest churches in Naples. Here is how it came to be….in 533 the Virgin Mary appeared to the Bishop of Naples and told him that he needed to chase away a pig the possessed by the devil and had been frightening the peasants.   The good ,bishop strapped on his six shooter and went a'huntin'. Soon enough he chased away the demon pig and had this church built on the foundations of an old temple to Diana. The church was remodled a bit in the 17th century but still has that edict of Constantine look to it. Here is the remarkable thing. 

The brick belfry that is next to the church was built in 900 CE. That’s right 900 CE, not 1900, 900.

That is very-very old for such a tall freestanding building made out of bricks and mortar instead of stone. The base of the tower is made up of bits of old roman buildings, apparently from the aforementioned temple of Diana.  There always seems to be a temple of  Diana nearby, or Venus. Even my grandparents lived next to a temple of Venus that was found in a field in Chester. Popular Goddess there...can't imagine why.

In the picture below you can clearly see the hodgepodge of old Roman marble incorporated into the belfry structure. Bits of column, cornice, dentil and egg and dart molding, even what look to be bits of the old altar, it's all here. 

Waste not, want not...