DUOMO SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA

Consecrated to Saint Mary of the Assumption, the Cathedral of Naples is particularly dear to the hearts of its inhabitants because it houses the relics of their patron saint, San Gennaro (Saint January), bishop of Benevento, who is said to have suffered martyrdom in the year 305 in the Roman amphitheatre of Pozzuoli. Inside the Cathedral, the Treasure Chapel of San Gennaro houses two curious bulbs in which the coagulated blood of the saint has been kept for centuries. Three times a year, during festivities that combine religious fervour and popular devotion, the faithful witness the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood, synonymous with prosperity for the city. A much-anticipated event, which is accompanied by a procession through the city and draws the entire population into the streets.

Cathedral. Built under Charles II of Anjou at the end of the 13th century and inaugurated in 1315, in the presence of Robert of Anjou and his wife Sancia de Mallorca, the cathedral stands on a site once occupied by the early Christian basilicas of Santa Restituta and Santa Stefania. If nothing remains of the latter, the one of Santa Restituta has been included in the Duomo project. The Gothic forms of the original cathedral were restored and reworked from the second half of the 15th century until the 20th century. The neo-Gothic façade of the 19th century integrates the three portals built at the beginning of the 15th century by Antonio Baboccio. The one in the centre is the most remarkable, the artist has integrated carved 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 splendid frescoes by Luca Giordano, is surmounted by a 17th-century wooden ceiling enriched with engravings and gilding. The Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro opens on the right nave through a monumental entrance, while opposite, from the left nave, the Basilica of Santa Restituta can be reached. Several chapels in the Cathedral are particularly noteworthy: in a chapel on the right transept, Perugino's masterpiece, The Assumption. 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 contemporary of Cimabue and Giotto (early 14th century). Next door, the Minutolo Chapel has preserved its mosaic floor with zoomorphic motifs from the end of the 13th century. At the far left of the chevet, the chapel of San Lorenzo or degli Illustrissimi is painted with a Tree of Jesse

Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro. Access for a fee (3,50 €). The Treasure refers to the reliquary bust preserving the skull bones of the holy man and the vials that would contain his solidified blood. The chapel was built at the beginning of the seventeenth century, in homage to the patron saint of the town, invoked by the population following a plague epidemic. It represents a high expression of the Baroque style: the dome is decorated with a Paradise

Crypt of San Gennaro. It was built by decision of 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 to Naples. The latter had been stolen from the Neapolitans by the Lombards of the Duchy of Benevento in 831, and for centuries they had rested in the Abbey of Montevergine, near Avellino. The crypt is the only Renaissance-style chapel in the whole building, attributed to Tommaso Malvito or to Bramante since the architect was in contact with the Carafa family in Rome. Entirely covered in marble, the chapel has a rectangular plan divided into three naves by columns supporting a coffered ceiling. In the centre stands the statue of Cardinal Carafa in prayer

Basilica Santa Restituta, baptistery and archaeological area. The Basilica of Santa Restituta is the oldest in the city, erected by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. It was part of the construction of the Duomo and was extensively rebuilt and completely redecorated in the 18th century. However, marble tombs from the 14th and 15th centuries have been preserved, as well as a 14th-century mosaic depicting the Virgin between San Gennaro and Santa Restituta. At the end of the nave on the right you can access the baptistery and the archaeological area (entrance fee: €3.50). The Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte (late 4th-early^5th century) is considered to be the oldest in the West (older than the Lateran in Rome) and its mosaics are one of the most complete examples of this art in southern Italy. We continue on to the archaeological area under Santa Restituta and the Episcopal Palace, which reveals remains from the Greek, Roman and early medieval periods.