Naples - San Francesco di Paola

San Francesco di Paola with vendors of junk

Opposite the Palazzo Reale is the church of San Francesco di Paola.  I have heard that the inside of the church is dull; Neoclassical in a stark almost horrifyingly academic way. Though others have compared it to an underwhelming tribute to the Pantheon in Rome. The arcades are actually quite beautiful, and they frame the Piazza del Plebiscito in front of the Palazzo Reale quite nicely and are a (so I have been told) relatively safe place to walk at night.

I read somewhere that this was started as a sort of temple to the heroes of the nation (much like the Pantheon in Paris) by Joachim Murat while he was pretending to be king during the early part of the nineteenth century. Then he was deposed, the Bourbons came back and pom-tiddly-pom they decided to turn it into a church dedicated to San Francesco di Paola. But don’t quote me on that as I really don’t remember where I read that, or if I just dreamed it.

Our first view of it was when they were preparing the big stage for New Years eve. My ankle still hurts.

Setting up stage for New Years in the Piazza Plebiscito