Naples Cathedral (Duomo di Napoli, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta or Cattedrale di San Gennaro) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cattedrale di San Gennaro, in honour of Saint Januarius, the city's patron saint, but is actually dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The present cathedral was commissioned by King Charles I of Anjou. Construction continued during the reign of his successor, Charles II (1285-1309) and was completed in the early 14th century under Robert of Anjou. It was built on the foundations of two palaeo-Christian basilicas.
The church houses a vial of the blood of Saint Januarius which is brought out twice a year, on the first Saturday in May and on 19 September, when the dried blood usually liquefies. If the blood fails to liquefy, then legend has it that disaster will befall Naples.
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli, Ramaccini, and Della Sala is that the vial contains a thixotropic gel, as also explained on the Blood Miracle of Riddles of the Dead series on National Geographic Channel. In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide, FeO(OH), which reproduces the colour and behaviour of the 'blood' in the ampoule. The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily
available locally since antiquity.
The Royal Theatre inside the palace has seating for some 400, and a magnificent royal box, with decoration made from papier mache.
Construction on the present building was begun in 17th century and it was intended to house the King Philip III of Spain on a visit never fulfilled to this part of his kingdom; instead it initially housed the Viceroy Fernando
Ruiz de Castro, earl of Lemos. By 1616, the facade had been completed, and by 1620, the interior was frescoed by a variety of artists; the decoration of the Royal Chapel of Assumption was not completed until 1644.
In 1734, with the arrival of Charles III of Spain to Naples, the palace became the royal residence of the Bourbons. On the occasion of his marriage to Maria Amalia of Saxony in 1738, the interior was remodelled. Charles also built three other palaces located more peripheral to the city centre. Further modernization took place under Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. In 1768, on the occasion of his marriage to Maria Carolina of Austria, the great hall was rebuilt and the court theatre added. During the second half of the 18th century, a "new wing", which in 1927 became the National Library Vittorio Emanuele III. By the 18th century, the royal residence was moved to Caserta, as that inland town was more defensible from naval assault, as well as more distant from the often-rebellious populace of Naples.
During the Napoleonic occupation the palace was enriched by Joachim Murat and his wife, Caroline Bonaparte, with Neoclassic decorations and furnishings. However, a fire in 1837 damaged many rooms, and required restoration from 1838 to 1858. Further additions of a Party Wing and a Belvedere were added in this period.
The bombing incurred during World War II (Naples was a key strategic target due to its port) and the subsequent military occupation of the building caused serious damage.
Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed inside (this will be a theme for today), so I have finally resorted to copying photos found on the internet - I can't work out if they are frightened that someone might try to recreate their ideas, or if they simply want to sell more post-cards: either way, it's a little bit annoying, but rules are rules.
It's original name under the Bourbon monarchy was the Real Teatro di San Carlo (Royal Theatre of Saint
Charles) and it is the oldest continuously active venue for public opera in Europe, opening in 1737, decades before both the Milan's La Scala and Venice's La Fenice theatres.
Apparently after appearing here as a 14 year old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart commented that Naples had great venues and wonderful music teachers, but that the people of Naples are noisy - it seems that they didn't fully appreciate his talent!
The horse-shoe shape of the theatre seating enhances the acoustics, while the ornate ceiling which is actually a piece of painted canvas, with a gap between it and the roof above, further improve the acoustics, such that the top-tier gallery has the best seats in the house.
Above the stage is an intriguing clock; the hand (there is only 1) remains stationary, while the clock-face itself rotates counter-clockwise; it's quite an elegant and simple way of displaying the time.
the Sansevero Chapel (also known as Santa Maria della Pieta, or Pietatella) was built in the late sixteenth Century and then the Prince of Sansevero in the mid eighteenth Century decided to convert it into a family mausoleum (which never eventuated), and in doing so decorated the chapel in a wonderful way.
The highlight is the Veiled Christ (1753), depicting Christ under the shroud after the crucifixion; this is an amazing sculpture, with the folds of the fine material displayed in great texture over the face and body clearly discernible, right down to the nail wounds in the hands and feet - quite simply remarkable.
In 1753, a young Neapolitan artist, Giuseppe Sanmartino, was appointed to make “a life-sized marble statue, representing Our Lord Jesus Christ dead, and covered in a transparent shroud carved from the same block as the statue”; he achieved this aim and much more with his work. The result is the Veiled Christ, an amazing sculpture, uncanny in its realism, with the folds of the fine material displayed in great texture over the face and body clearly discernible, right down to the nail wounds in the hands and feet - quite simply remarkable and stunning.
Two other pieces with similar qualities, but not to the same level, are the statues of "Modesty", which has a veil and of "Disillusion", which has an intricate net pattern. I'm sure that if these were the only two sculptures, they would impress greatly, as they are wonderful pieces in their own right, but honestly, they almost pale into the background in the presence of the Veiled Christ - it really is that good.
However, there is also the macabre, for in the lower chapel are 2 models known as the Anatomical Machines, which purport to be the somehow preserved bones and blood network of a male and a female - a bit like a train wreck, you know it's totally wrong, but you somehow can't help by look.
Some of these photos won't look their best in the thumbnails below due to their orientation, so please make sure you click on them to get a larger gallery.
I searched for the site of the catacombs, but with no luck at all - somehow two signs each pointing towards each other from about 100m apart, and with nothing of any significance between, didn't really help - and the locals were none too helpful either; so eventually after wandering the general area for half an hour or so I gave up looking.
On the way back to the apartment, I came across the Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco Complex, which has a lower church (underground), called a hypogeum. In this place, there are anonymous human remains, and it has led to the cult of souls in Purgatory (which includes the "adoption" of a random human skull. I found this place disturbing on so many levels (so in hindsight I am probably glad that I missed the catacombs). I guess it has some interest for what it represents in terms of people's belief systems, but I can't help but think it somehow wrong.
And that was the day completed. I will finish up with some general shots of the streets of Naples during today's wanderings.