Naples - San Domenico Plague Column

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

Naples - San Domenico Maggiore

San Domenico Maggiore

San Domenico Maggiore- The exterior has an almost Moorish, southern Spain look to it. The sun bleached brick with tiny windows and the trefoil crenellations add to the illusion. The interior is quite elaborate but in the gothic manner rather than the fanciful baroque that abounds in most Naples churches. This is due to a restoration project in the 19th century to remove the baroque decoration and return the church to its Gothic austerity. Which in Neapolitan terms means lots of gilt pointy arches and marble clustered columns, golden capitals and a coffered ceiling with a profusion of carving and indeed more gilt.

There has been a church and monastery on this site for a very long time. In the 13th century it was handed over to the Dominican monks and after a while they decided they were in need of a bigger church. The result you see before you was completed in 1324.

Once the attached monastery was the seat of the ever migratory University of Naples and Thomas Aquinas taught theology here from 1272 until he began his deadly journey to the Council of Lyon in 1274.

Naples - Gesu Nuovo

Gesu Nuovo: Consecrated by the Jesuits in 1601this is a rather unique church in Naples. 

The facade is fascinating. It looks unfinished, as if it is lacking a pediment. The giant c-scrolls in piperno stone seem prepared to support something a little more grand than nothing.  The strange pyramidal ashlar work on the facade is, well strange, compared to the fluid and flamboyant architecture that abounds in Naples. The stone is very dark and gives the building a prison like air. If it were not of the three marble trimmed baroque portals and the same number of marble trimmed baroque windows inserted into the facade it would be exceedingly bleak. The central portal is quite a work of art with only two cherubs and two reclining figures, and a cartouche and some scroll work and some bass reliefs. 

The strange apperance is apparently from the fact that the church was built as a palace in the fourteenth century. Not sure exactly how it became a church. But I think that anything left in Naples for long enough will become a church. 

On an interesting note, we saw a palace in Rome that had very similar pyramidal ashlar work and the Faceted Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow (designed around the same time by an Italian architect) has much the same finish.  I remember reading when I was there that the architects that had worked on the Kermlin had come from Italy. It is very possible that they had seen this building. 

Naples - Guglia - Piazza Gesu Nuovo

This obelisk is not a true obelisk, nor is it a plague column, it is a confectionous riot of carving that leaves most of Naples monuments dead in the water.

Designed and built in the 1750s it is possibly the finest example of Neapolitan baroque at its zenith.  Though not a plague column it certainly looks as if it has come down with a plague of cherubs. The little beasts crawl and writhe all over the thing, clambering over festoons and garlands and all manner of stone devices.

At first I thought it was hideous, however after being by it a few times it began to grow on me. In the end I decided that I wanted one for my garden.  Not sure how I will fit it in my luggage, or what the customs officers might say.

"Anything to declare?" - "Just this great wazzock of a statue thingy..." "Move along sir..."

Guglia from Via Benedetto Croce

The piazza is also delightful with sunny and shady spots a newsstand and the prerequisite cafes with indoor and outdoor seating.

Besides the Guglia the square is also home to the Chiesa dell Gesu Nuovo, the Chiesa and Monastario di Santa Chiara (with it's fantastic Majolica tile cloisters, and bell tower made up of bits of old roman temples), the Comune di Napoli, and apparently Warner Brothers Italia.

Naples - December 31, 2011 - Archaeological Museum

The archaeological museum is a must see. An absolutely unparalleled  collection of Roman artifacts, sculpture, painting and everyday household objects, silver, glassware, bronze.

Almost everything that was removed from Pompeii ended up here along with some gigantic statues from Rome as well.   There are hardly words to describe the collection.  If you travel to Naples and do not go to this museum you fail at life.

The building is quite something in and of itself. Built in the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century as a cavalry barracks, it was for a time used as part of the University of Naples.

Naples - December 31, 2012 - Santa Maria di Costantinopoli

Santa Maria di Constantinopoli 

The church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is yet another church in Naples  built because of a plague.  Built in the sixteenth and seventeenth century it is incredibly restrained compared to many of the baroque churches in Naples whose facades explode with riotous nightmares of decoration. 

This is down a side street across from the archaeological museum and defiantly worth stopping by. 

Naples - December 31, 2011 - Galleria Principe

Galleria Principe  looking noth

 Across from the Archaeological Museum in Naples is a smaller version of the galleria Umberto I.  Though it has a large loggia on the facade, it is sort of easy to miss the entrance unless you are looking for it.

Built on a more human scale than the Galleria Umberto and pretty empty of shops the Galleria Principe is much more intimate.  Though still inhabited by pigeons, it has recently been restored to it's former glory.

This place has so much potential, there was nothing open when we visited, however it looks like there is a cafe that might be open at some time.

There is just so much decoration, I couldn't really absorb all of the details until I got home and could really examine the pictures.

Built between 1870 and 1883 it is also older than the Umberto. Unfortunately it never had the success of the latter, possibly because of the location, possibly because it was one of the first buildings of the new Italian Nation.

Galleria Principe, looking east 

When it was built the Church of Santa Maria de Constantinople was in the way of the logical fourth arm. Thus it does seem a little truncated and this may have been art of the reason for it's dismal record.

Personally I really liked this one and was very happy that I was privileged enough to see this place.