DUOMO SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA

Dedicated to Saint Mary of the Assumption, Naples Cathedral is particularly dear to the hearts of its inhabitants, as it houses the relics of their patron saint, San Gennaro (Saint January), bishop of Benevento, who is said to have suffered martyrdom in 305 AD in the Roman amphitheatre of Pozzuoli. Inside the cathedral, the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro houses two curious ampoules in which the saint's coagulated blood has been preserved for centuries. Three times a year, during festivities that combine religious fervor and popular devotion, the faithful witness the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood, synonymous with prosperity for the city. This eagerly-awaited event is accompanied by a procession through the town, drawing the entire population into the streets. The Chapelle du Trésor also houses the saint's skull, while his bones rest in the crypt.

Cathedral. Built under Charles II d'Anjou in the late ^13th century and inaugurated in 1315 in the presence of Robert d'Anjou and his wife Sancia de Majorca, the cathedral stands on a site once occupied by the early Christian basilicas of Santa Restituta and Santa Stefania. While nothing remains of the latter, the basilica of Santa Restituta was included in the Duomo project. The Gothic forms of the original cathedral were reworked from the second half of the ^15th century until the ^20th century. The cathedral's interior decoration is essentially Baroque. The ^19th-century neo-Gothic façade incorporates the three portals designed in the early ^15th century by Antonio Baboccio. The central portal is the most remarkable, incorporating sculptural elements dating back to the previous century: in the tympanum, a Madonna and Child by Tino di Camaino and, on either side of the entrance, stylophoric lions (column-bearers). The solemn interior, of grandiose proportions, is in the shape of a Latin cross. The central nave, with its upper walls decorated with frescoes by Luca Giordano, is topped by a ^17th-century wooden ceiling enriched with engravings and gilding. A monumental entrance to the right nave leads to the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, while opposite, the left nave leads to the Basilica of Santa Restituta and the Baptistery. Several of the cathedral's chapels are particularly noteworthy: in a chapel in the right transept, you can see Perugino's Assumption , a masterpiece by the artist who was also Raphael's master. The two chapels to the right of the apse have retained their original Gothic structure: the Tocco chapel (chapel directly to the right of the apse) is decorated with frescoes by various artists, including Pietro Cavallini, a Roman painter and contemporary of Cimabue and Giotto (early ^14th century). Next door, the Minutolo chapel has preserved its late ^13th-century mosaic pavement with zoomorphic motifs. To the far left of the chevet, the chapel of San Lorenzo or degli Illustrissimi is painted with a Tree of Jesse by Lello di Orvieto (circa 1315).

Chapel of the Treasury of San Gennaro. The Treasure refers to the reliquary bust containing the bones of the holy man's skull, as well as the vials said to contain his solidified blood. The chapel was built in the early ^17th century as a tribute to the town's patron saint, who was invoked by the population following a plague epidemic. It represents a high expression of the Baroque style: the dome is decorated with a Paradise by Giovanni Lanfranco, while the pendentives and lunettes, painted by the Domenichino, depict scenes from the life of San Gennaro. The Domenichino also painted five of the six altarpieces (the sixth being by Jusepe di Ribera).

Crypt of San Gennaro. This crypt was built by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa in the 16th^century to house the bones of the saint's body. The cardinal had just obtained permission from Pope Alexander VI Borgia to bring the relics of San Gennaro back to Naples. The relics had been stolen from the Neapolitans by the Lombards of the Duchy of Benevento in 831, and had rested for centuries in the Abbey of Montevergine, near Avellino. The crypt is the only Renaissance-style chapel in the entire building, attributed either to Tommaso Malvito or to Bramante, since the architect was in contact with the Carafa family in Rome. Completely covered in marble, the chapel has a rectangular plan divided into three naves by columns supporting a coffered ceiling. The centerpiece is a statue of Cardinal Carafa at prayer, by sculptor Tommaso Malvito.

Basilica of Santa Restituta and baptistery. The Basilica of Santa Restituta is the city's oldest, erected by Emperor Constantine in the 4th^century . Incorporated into the construction of the Duomo, it was extensively remodeled and completely redecorated in the 18th^century . Marble tombs from the 14th^and 15th^centuries have survived, however, as has a^14th-century mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary between San Gennaro and Santa Restituta. At the end of the nave on the right is the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte (late ^4th-early5th century). Considered the oldest in the West (predating the Lateran in Rome), its mosaics are a unique and exceptionally well-preserved example of this art form in southern Italy at the time.