CHIESA DI SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE

Church built between the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the^5th century, in the early Christian era. At the beginning it was called the Severiana, because it was the Bishop San Severo of Naples who had requested its construction. The change of ownership of the church came later, in the 9th century, when the Neapolitans placed themselves under the protection of the holy warrior during their struggles against the Lombards. The originality of this church comes from its two apses: one, on the entrance side, dates back to the early Christian period and still has ancient Corinthian columns; the other dates back to 1640, when the building was rebuilt by Cosimo Fanzago in baroque style and its orientation was reversed. It now has only two naves, the third having been demolished during the widening of the adjacent Via Duomo. Another curiosity: during restoration work on the apse in the 1990s, the painting of the choir of Alessio d'Elia was removed, revealing another painting whose existence was unknown. It is a painting of St. George Slaying the Dragon by the 17th century artist Aniello Falcone. Hidden for centuries, this work is the best preserved of the painter's work because the colours have been preserved. A system of hinges has been put in place to allow the two works to be admired simultaneously. Ask the sacristan to see Falcone's hidden painting: he will be happy to operate the ingenious system.