Naples - Duomo

Just west of the church of the Girolamini is the Duomo or cathedral of Naples; San Gennaro. This is the site of the famous Miracle of San Gennaro; twice a year his dried blood (in a vial) liquefies. The façade of the cathedral is a riot of gothic architecture, most of which dates from the late 19th century. The three portals however are supposed to date to the 13th century.

The via Duomo itself is a narrow street lined with shops and even some trees!

Naples - San Gennaro Shrine - Porta Capuana

San Gennaro Shrine at Porta Capuana

Just outside the Church of Santa Caterina in Formiello there is a baroque shrine to San Gennaro (Januarius) patron saint of Naples. Constructed from black and white contrasting marble, two pilasters and a pair of volutes flank a bust of San Gennaro in an octagonal frame above a bas relief white marble drapery. Above this a broken pediment contains a coat of arms and two b@stard cherubs. Because as we all know everything needs more cherubs.

St. Januarius was born into a rich family sometime in the third century. He became the bishop of Naples and then annoyed the wrong people (namely the government of Emperor Diocletian, the only Roman emperor to retire of his own will) and was either torn apart by bears or beheaded or both. The cathedral of Naples is dedicated to him and it is here in Naples that his dried blood liquefies three times a year.

If you are ever in New York around the 19th of September (one of the days that the blood liquefies) check out the feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy.