Naples Guide Italy

Churches and Museums

Churches and Museums

• Cathedral-Duomo – this was built around the end of the 12^th century. The Cathedral of Naples has undergone several restorations over the centuries, partly carried out to repair the damage from earthquakes and partly to increase its artistic beauty. The relics of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples are kept in the cathedral.
  
• Church of Santa Chiara – This church originated in 1300 and was restored after the Second World War during which it was damaged in air-raid bombing. It was returned to its original Provencal Gothic style. The funeral monument of Robert I of Anjou is to be noted. In the nearby Convent in Piazza del Gesù, there is a wonderful majolica-tiled Cloister to be seen.
  
• Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore – This is a magnificent building dating back to the end of the 13^th century, which was restored in the 17^th century. Every Christmas a life-size nativity scene is set up inside the church.
  
• Church of San Gregorio Armeno – A wonderful example of Neapolitan Baroque art. The church is completely covered inside with frescoes and has cloisters that were designed in 1580 with a beautiful marble fountain in the center.
  
• Church of Gesù Nuovo – The opulent interior of this church, filled with multi-color marble and with altars inlaid with semi-precious stones such as agate, amethysts and lapis lazuli, are a sight to be seen.
  

The museums to visit to learn all about this city’s history and culture:

• National Archeological Museum – This is the most important archeological museum in Europe and contains the collection of objects that belonged to the Bourbon family and also a series of bronzes, sculptures and other objects found in the digs at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The famous “Tirannicidi” and all the sculptures on show in the "Galleria dei Grandi Maestri" (Great Masters Gallery) must be seen.
  
• Capodimonte Museum and Gallery - This Museum, opened in 1950, houses works of art ranging from the 13^th to the 18^th century which belonged to the Farnese family and which were then inherited by the Bourbon family. The "Roman Collection" that includes works of art by Michelangelo, Tiziano, El Greco, Raffaello and Botticelli is an essential part of any visit.
  
• San Martino Museum – This museum is in the wonderful Certosa (Carthusian Monastery) of San Martino, and is dedicated to Neapolitan history and culture. There is a very interesting section on nativity scenes which displays examples from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The monumental sized “Cuciniello” nativity scene is well worth a visit.
  
• Royal Palace Museum – This is the Museum of the seventeenth-century Royal Palace where all the furniture, sculptures, porcelain and paintings belonging to the Bourbon dynasty are kept. The “Palace’s Sacred Art” Collection can be seen in the palace chapel.

Go to directories of the Web Sites

• Art & Culture in Naples

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• A special day