Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Neapolitan Twist
Like the Neapolitans themselves, the city's baroque architec-
ture is idiosyncratic and independently minded. Architects
working in Naples at the time often ignored the trends sweep-
ing through Rome and northern Italy. Pilasters may have been all the rage in late-17th-
century Roman churches, but in Naples, architects like Dionisio Lazzari (1617-89) and
Giovanni Battista Nauclerio (1666-1739) went against the grain, reasserting the value of
the column and effectively paving the way for Luigi Vanvitelli's columnar architecture
and the neoclassicism which would sweep Europe in the mid-18th century.
In domestic Neapolitan architecture, a
palazzo
's
piano nobile
(principal floor) was of-
ten on the 2nd floor (not the 1st as was common), encouraging the creation of the epic
porte-cocheres
(coach porticos) that distinguish so many Neapolitan buildings.
Equally grandiose were the city's open staircases, which reached perfection in the
hands of Naples-born architect Ferdinando Sanfelice (1675-1748). His double-ramped
creations in Palazzo dello Spagnuolo and Palazzo Sanfelice exemplify his ability to trans-
form humble domestic staircases into operatic statements.
Another star on the building scene was Antonio Domenico Vaccaro (1678-1745). Ori-
ginally having trained as a painter under Francesco Solimena, his architectural legacy
would include the redesign of the cloisters at the Basilica di Santa Chiara, the decoration
of three chapels of the church inside the Certosa di San Martino, as well as the design of
the soaring
guglia
(obelisk) on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore.
With the help of his father, Lorenzo (himself a renowned sculptor), Vaccaro had also
contributed a bronze monument dedicated to Philip V of Spain, which topped the Guglia
dell'Immacolata on Piazza del Gesù Nuovo. Alas, the work would later be toppled by
Charles III and replaced with a much less controversial, and still-standing, Madonna.
For many of Naples' baroque architects, the saying 'It's what's inside that counts' had a
particularly strong resonance. Due in part to the city's notorious high density and lack of
showcasing piazzas, many invested less time on adorning hard-to-see facades and more on
lavishing interiors. The exteriors of churches like the Chiesa del Gesù Vecchio on Via
Giovanni Paladino or the Chiesa di San Gregorio Armeno give little indication of the de-
tailed opulence waiting inside, from cheeky cherubs and gilded ceilings to polychromatic
marble walls and floors.
» Palazzo dello Spagnuolo,
Naples
