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The
Church of St Domenico Maggiore, which
dominates the homonymous square, was originally the Casa Maggiore dell’Ordine
dei Predicatori in the kingdom of Naples. The main entrance to the square
is a 16th Century marmoreal portal, which was unfortunately badly restored
in 1991. It is one of the most important churches in Naples, and was built
on the wishes of Charles II and is inglobed as the oldest Benedictine church
of St Michele di Morfisa, whose adjacent portal is composed of staircase
in Piperno (a kind of lava used for paving) on the wishes of Alfonso I and
redone during the 19th Century. It also has an elegant marble balcony with
the Carafa coats of arms. The façade, from the hamlet of St Domenico,
as with other churches of Angioina construction, shows specific stratification
originating from the cult place. The entrance of the same courtyard, preceded
by a Baroque porch way, enclosed between two Renaissance chapels, conserves
a marmoreal portal and the wooden portal, built on the wishes of and paid
for by Bartolomeo di Capua. The bell tower to the right has a Baroque crowning.
The interior, which gives it the air of a Cathedral, was restructured by
Federico Travaglino, who substituted the 16th Century Baroque adornments
with Neo-Gothic ones. The Domenico Antonio Vaccaro flooring remained, along
with the central nave ceiling, the balustrades, the gates of the chapels
and the pulpits dating back to the mid 16th Century. The Church preserves
an imposing series of sepulchres
from the 14th-19th Centuries. This is one of the vastest and most important
conservation of
works of art. Amongst som e
of these most important works, we can mention: the frescoes of Pietro Cavallini
from 1308/09, the Renaissance chapel of the Saluzzo, in the CAPPELLONE
DEL CROCIFISSO, (Large Chapel of the Crucifix) the frescoed work
by Michele Regoli a,
on the 18th
Century altar, there is a reproduction of the Crucifix on a tablet, venerated
because it is said that Tommaso d’Aquino was spoken to through it. The Renaissance
Chapel of the Doce, for which Raffaello painted the Madonna del Pesce, now
housed in the Museum of Prado in Madrid. The Sacristy is famous for the
homogeneity of its elegant Baroque atmosphere and the coffins it houses,
which line the balcony and contain the remains of illustrious characters;
a unique case in all of Europe. In the left Transept, we can see the first
Chapel to the left of the presbytery, restored in 1788 by Carlo Vanvitelli,
the painting of the Flagellation by Andrea Vaccaro; a copy of the original
painted by Caravaggio which is currently conserved in the Museum of Capodimonte,
where the Annunciation by Tiziano is also conserved and which was painted
for the church in a period prior to the left Transept. In the left nave,
we find the altar of the Madonna di Nives, with statue by Giovanni da Nola.
Here lies the tomb of Bernardino Rota by Giovanni Domenico D’Auria, with
figures of the Tevere and the Arno, being symbols of the Latin and Italian
languages used by Rota in his poetry.
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