Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chiesa e Chiostro di
San Gregorio Armeno
( 081 420 63 85; Via San Gregorio Armeno 44; church 9.30am-noon daily,
cloisters 9.30am-noon Mon-Fri, 9.30am-12.45pm & 3-5pm Sat & Sun; C55 to Via
Duomo)
Overstatement knows no bounds at this richly ornamented 16th-century monastic
complex, its church featuring lavish wood and papier-mâché choir stalls, a sumptuous al-
tar by Dionisio Lazzari, and Luca Giordano's masterpiece fresco
The Embarkation, Jour-
ney and Arrival of the Armenia Nuns with the Relics of St Gregory
. Accessible by a gate
on Vicolo Giuseppe Maffei are the complex's superb cloisters.
Giordano's famous fresco recounts the 13th-century exile of nuns fleeing persecution in
Constantinople. Once in Naples, the holy escapees set up this monastic complex, naming
it after the Bishop of Armenia, San Gregorio, whose earthly remains they were carrying
with them. More famously, though, they also kept the relics and dried blood of Santa Pat-
rizia (St Patricia), who, having escaped from Constantinople, died in Naples sometime
between the 4th and 8th centuries. Patricia's powdered blood is said to liquefy every Tues-
day, unlike that of Naples' patron saint, San Gennaro, who can only manage it three times
a year.
Sublimely peaceful, the cloisters feature a whimsical baroque fountain embellished
with masks, dolphins and sea horses, and two exquisite statues portraying Christ and the
Samaritan by Matteo Bottigliero. At the southern end is the convent's old bakery, which is
still adorned with old cooking utensils. Close by is the
Cappella della Madonna dell'Idria
. Adorned with painting by baroque artist Paolo De Matteis, the chapel is the only surviv-
ing remnant of the original medieval convent.
From the cloisters one can enter the beautifully decorated coro delle monache (nuns'
choir stall), which look down on the church nave and altar. If you're lucky, you might
catch a glimpse of the choir's 612-year-old wooden nativity scene, usually hidden away in
wooden cabinet on the southern wall. Either way, take note of the discreet windows lining
the oval cupola above the choir stall. These belong to a secret second choir stall, hidden
away so that even ill, bed- ridden nuns could attend mass.
CHURCH, MONASTERY
Piazzetta Nilo
(Via Nilo, Piazzetta Nilo; Dante)
You'll stumble across two local deities in this dusty
little square. First up is ancient-Egyptian river god Nilo, whose marble sculpture
Statua
del Nilo
was erected by the city's Alexandrian merchants, who lived in the area during
Roman times. Questions shroud the Statua del Nilo, which mysteriously disappeared
PIAZZA
