Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 081 44 90 97;
www.duomodinapoli.it
; Via Duomo; baptistry admission €1.50;
cathedral, baptistry & archaeological zone 8.30am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm Mon-Sat,
8.30am-1.30pm & 4.30-7.30pm Sun; C55 to Via Duomo)
Whether you go for Gio-
vanni Lanfranco's fresco in the Cappella di San Gennaro (Chapel of St Janarius), the 4th-
century mosaics in the baptistry, or the thrice-annual miracle of San Gennaro, don't miss
Naples' cathedral. Initiated by Charles I of Anjou in 1272 and consecrated in 1315, it was
largely destroyed in a 1456 earthquake, with copious nips and tucks over the subsequent
centuries.
Among these is the gleaming neo-Gothic facade, only added in the late 19th-century.
Step inside and you'll immediately notice the central nave's gilded coffered ceiling, stud-
ded with late-Mannerist art. The high sections of the nave and the transept are the work of
baroque overachiever Luca Giordano.
Off the left aisle, the 17th-century
Cappella di San Gennaro
(Chapel of St Januarius,
also known as the Chapel of the Treasury) was designed by Giovanni Cola di Franco and
completed in 1637. The most celebrated artists of the period worked on the chapel, creat-
ing one of the city's greatest baroque legacies. Highlights here include Giuseppe de Rib-
era's gripping canvas
St Gennaro Escaping the Furnace Unscathed
and Giovanni Lan-
franco's dizzying dome fresco. Hidden away in a strongbox behind the altar is a 14th-cen-
tury silver bust in which sit the skull of San Gennaro and the two phials that hold his mi-
raculously liquefying blood.
The next chapel eastwards contains an urn with the saint's bones and a cupboard full of
femurs, tibias and fibulas. Below the high altar is the
Cappella Carafa
, a Renaissance
chapel built to house yet more of the saint's remains.
Off the north aisle sits one of Naples' oldest basilicas, dating to the 4th century. Incor-
porated into the main cathedral, the
Basilica di Santa Restituta
was subject to an almost
complete makeover after the earthquake of 1688. Beyond this lurks the Duomo's
archae-
ological zone
, which showcases fascinating remains of Greek and Roman buildings and
roads. Here, too, is the
baptistry
, the oldest in Western Europe, with its glittering 4th-
century mosaics.
If you're intrigued by Naples' cultish love affair with San Gennaro, consider popping
www.museosangennaro.com
; Via Duomo 149; admission €7; 9am-5.30pm daily Mar-
Dec, 10am-5.30pm Thu-Tue Jan & Feb; CS to Via Duomo)
, whose glittering collec-
tion of precious ex voto gifts includes bronze busts, silver ampullae, sumptuous paintings
and a gilded 18th-century sedan chair used to shelter the saint's bust on rainy procession
days.
