The Cathedral of Naples

Near our hotel is one of the oldest and most important churches in the city: the Cathedral of Naples.

The construction of this marvelous Cathedral was commissioned by Charles of Anjou in 1294, on the site of two ancient basilicas: Santa Restituta and Stefania.

As soon as you arrive in front of the Duomo you can admire its facade with three portals: about 50 meters high and in neo-Gothic style. The facade has: two lions positioned on the sides of the main portal, groups of angels in relief, the cusp, the upper clypeus with the Coronation of the Madonna, the figures of San Pietro and San Gennaro with cardinal Enrico Capece Minutolo. The right door is opened only for the festivities that celebrate San Gennaro and, rarely, also in other cases.

The interior of the Cathedral is a Latin cross with three naves; there are many sepulchral monuments and works that can be admired. Among the many chapels, two are the most well-known ones: 1) the Chapel of Santa Restituta which has works by Luca Giordano and fourteenth-century sculptures; to the right of the apse is the access to the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, considered the oldest in the West; 2) the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro which preserves the relics of the patron saint of the city and within which is celebrated the famous rite of liquefaction. The ritual, which takes place 3 times a year (the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, 19 September – the day of the anniversary of San Gennaro – and 16 December), foresees the repetition of the so-called “miracle of San Gennaro”, that is, the liquefaction of blood that according to tradition was collected by the body of the patron saint of the city after his martyrdom.