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Home > Italy Travel Guide > Monastero di Santa Chiara

Monastero di Santa Chiara

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Introduction
Location
History

ATTRACTIONS

Cloister of the Clarisses
Monastic Courtyard
The Majolica Tile work
Interior
Events & Exhibitions

INFORMATION

Useful Information
Links

Introduction

Santa Chiara is a religious complex in Naples, southern Italy, which includes the Church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs and an archeological museum. This is the thirteenth-century's Gothic church/convent of Santa Chiara, marked most obviously by the belfry that stands within the grounds at the end of the square. The convent was built between 1310 and 1328 at the behest of the wife of King Robert of Anjou. The complex retains the citadel-like walls setting it apart from the outside world, walls that contained a vast religious community and today contain a more modest one made up of the Convent of the Poor Clares and an order Grey Friars. The original church was in traditional Provencal-Gothic style, but was restored in the 17th-18th century in Baroque style by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro. King's Robert's tomb is within the church, and bears the epitaph by Petrarch: Cernite Robertum regem virtute refertum, reminding the people to “consider Robert a King rich in virtue”.

Location

Address :Via Benedetto Croce, Naples 80134, Italy.
Telephone: +39 81 552 6209.

History

The Church of Santa Chiara is a Gothic church/convent built between 1310 and 1328 for the wife of King Robert of Anjou. It is marked by a belfry that stands within the grounds at the northeast corner. The complex was expanded along Baroque lines in the 18th century. It was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in WW II and was restored to its original Gothic form in 1953.

On August 4, 1943, after 95 previous air raids on the city of Naples aimed primarily at military installations near the port and train station, the next attack accidentally hit the church and, as they say here, “destroyed six centuries in ten seconds.” (Robert of Anjou built the original church in 1310.) The fire burned for 10 days; 159 persons were killed and 228 were wounded. The church was left a burned-out shell. The belfry on the grounds is the only part that escaped destruction. A plaque on the front of the church, itself, commemorates the reconstruction, finished in 1953.

The mayor of Naples attended the ceremony in the presence of young Franciscan monks, born many years after the event. The ceremony was a tribute to the reconstruction and, as well, to Brother Gaudenzio Dell'Aia, the monk who planned and supervised the work. The church was restored to its original Gothic state, undoing the architectural additions of those who came after the Angevins in the history of Naples. Luigi Ortaglio, the Franciscan who succeeded Dell'Aia as the head of the order in Naples, spoke at the ceremony and called the reconstruction a symbol of the “victory of peace over war” and compared it to resurrection, the rebirth that follows death.

Cloister of the Clarisses

Famous is the cloister of the Clarisses, transformed in 1742 by Vaccaro with the addition of precious majolica tiles in Rococo style. The Nuns' Choir houses fragments of frescoes by Giotto.

Monastic Courtyard

The lovely monastic courtyard in the rear of the church is the result of a renovation done by D.A. Vaccaro in the 1730s, apparently at the request of Maria Amalia di Sassonia, wife of Charles III of Bourbon, King of Naples.
Complete restoration of the courtyard is still not complete, and if one considers the vast amount of work entailed (including the restoration of the frescos on the walls and ceilings of the arched passageways around the perimeter of the courtyard and the re-landscaping of the gardens) maybe it never will be, but the work done since the year 2000 has had significant results. Dozens of art restorers, masons, and gardeners have been at work.

The Majolica Tile work

The majolica tile work is characteristic of the school of Neapolitan ceramic from that period and was crafted by Donato Massa and his son, Giuseppe. Majolica is earthenware with a white tin glaze, decorated by applying colorants on the raw surface of white slip before firing. The high viscosity of the glaze restricts flow as the glaze melts; giving a glossy surface that maintains the line quality of the decoration. Majolica is the anglicized version of the Italian maiolica and refers only to tin-glazed and some lead-glazed ware of the 19th century.

Interior

The simple interior houses, behind the high altar, the tomb of King Robert and, in the side chapels, those of the Bourbon king of Naples, Francis II and his consort Marie Sophie, as well as of Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy (wife of Charles Felix of Sardinia) and of the national hero Salvo d'Acquisto (a carabiniere who sacrificed his own life to save the lives of 22 civilian hostages at the time of the Nazi occupation).

Nativity Scenes from the 18th century
The Nativity Scene (Christmas Crib) kept inside the Monastery belongs to a collection of many made in Naples during the kingdom of Ferdinand IV, the Bourbon king. The king was in fact a big collector and used to commission important sculptors, like Giuseppe Sanmartino, author of the Veiled Christ, one of the most important Italian sculptural masterpieces of the 18th century.

The Archaeological Room
This room hosts all the materials discovered during the excavations. The presence of a lead pipe is interesting also because it was used to get water from Serino's aqueduct, built during Augustus' period. There is also a portion of the old Roman bath. From the archaeological room is possible to get to the outdoor Archaeological Area and to the History Room.

The History Room
This room shows the historic and artistic changes of the Basilica, in connection with the Cloister and the Monastery. There is a collection of objects coming from the Francescan Citadel: in particular, Roberto d Angio' and Sancia di Maiorca marble busts and Peace, a 16th-century valuable handicraft representing the Visitation, and the Revolving door.

The Marble Room
The exposed pieces help in following the cultural development of Naples between 1300 and 1800. Most of the findings decorated Santa Chiara Church until the bombings in 1943. There is also the Fregio delle Storie di Santa Caterina bas-relief, mostly destroyed by the fire after the bombs.
Along the pillars there is a sequence of friezes that in the past embellished the balconiess' balaustrade located for each cell. Thus, each cell has a different frieze representing a coat of arms (because the Royal Monastery hosted upper-class girls) and religious scenes.

The Reliquary Room
The museum ends with the Reliquary room. This space displays very valuable reliquaries and holy vestments and almost-natural wooden sculptures natural scaled to a nativity. The refined wooden bust presenting Ecce Homo was made by Giovanni da Nola.

Educational Section
Inside the Santa Chiara complex there is an area that has been identified as the educational section, in order to give a very helpful contribution to cultural social values that support the “La citta' nella citta” project.

Oltre il Chiostro Services
Inside the complex, rooms are available for conferences and meetings. Indeed, there is also a catering service for parties, luncheons, and coffee breaks connected to the use of the rooms. Oltre il Chiostro cards are a way to use facilities for the services.

Events & Exhibitions

The Santa Chiara Museum Complex hosts art exhibitions and various events. Painting, sculpture, architecture, music and photography are the most recurring themes.

Useful Information

Open:Monday to Saturday 8:30am and 12:30pm and 15:30 to 18:00pm.
Sunday 8:30 and 12:30.
Admission: Free

Links

Circumvesuviana

Transport

SNAV

Transport

Caremar

Transport

N.L.G Navigazione Libera del Golfo

Transport

Alilauro

Transport

Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli

Transport

Trenitalia

Transport

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