Naples - Porta Nolana

The Porta Nolana

The Porta Nolana is located about 100 yards north of the Circumvesuvia train station on the Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi. I believe this gate to be part of the Aragonese walls that surrounded Naples in the 15th century. Unlike the Porta Capuana, which has been cleaned up and restored, the Porta Nolanna is incorporated into occupied residential buildings in various states of decay. It’s actually quite fantastic.

Naples - Porta Capuana

Porta Capuana - rain in December...

Just north of the train station on a piazza on the west side of the Corso Giuseppe Garabaldi is part of the old Aragonese city walls. Or at least one gate; the Porta Capuana, named after the east-west roman road that led to Capua even though it was moved four hundred years ago and no longer straddles the road, stands like a triumphal arch beckoning and daring one to walk underneath its glory.

These walls were built under the expansion of the city under Spanish rule in the 15th century. Though the walls were demolished some time ago a number of the gate remain around the city as sort of curiosities. This one was heavily built over until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Old photographs show the buildings coming right up to it and even over it.

Like the castle Nuovo this is built out of the local dark grey stone, but has a magnificent triumphal arch in white marble. The treatment of the carving is superb and has some of those delightful Neapolitan renaissance quirky anomalies. For example the winged victories and the Corinthian columns are almost mirror images of ancient Roman examples, but the statues flanking the central shield are very stiff and unyielding, pointing to their 1484 date.

On the western side of the gate the Piazza Enrico de Nicola was filled with garbage. And some tremendously gorgeous buildings, but still a lot of garbage. It was a holiday, so I will have to assume it was a one off occurrence...though I might be a little optimistic.

Triumphal arch in the Porta Capuana; through the arch can be seen Santa Caterina a Formiello

Overall, brilliant...really brill.