| Church of Gesù Nuovo | |
| Fullname: | Chiesa di Gesù Nuovo |
| Location: | Piazza del Gesù Nuovo Naples Province of Naples, Campania |
| Country: | Italy |
| Coordinates: | 40.8473°N 14.2518°W |
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic |
| Status: | Active |
| Architectural Type: | Church |
| Style: | Baroque architecture |
| Completed Date: | 1750 |
| Diocese: | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples |
Gesù Nuovo (Italian: New Jesus) is the name of a church and a square in Naples, Italy. It is located just outside the western boundary of the historic center of the city. To the southeast of the spire, one can see a block away the Fountain of Monteoliveto and the piazza of the church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi. The square is a result of the expansion of the city to the west beginning in the early 16th century under the rule of Spanish viceroy Pedro Alvarez de Toledo. The square of Gesù Nuovo contains three prominent landmarks:
The Church of Gesù Nuovo was originally a palace built in 1470 for Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno. The Jesuits had already built a church with this name in Naples, now called Gesú Vecchio. Political intrigues by the Sanseverino family caused the property to be confiscated, and eventually sold in the 1580s to the Jesuits for 45,000 ducats to construct a church (1584–1601) under architect Giuseppe Valeriano. The construction was also helped by local support including that of Roberta Carafa, Countess of Maddaloni. The adjacent gardens of Isabella Feltria, Principessa di Bisignano were also included in the construction. Construction of the church began in 1584. The new church retained the unusual facade, originally built for the palace, faced with rustic ashlar diamond projections.[1]
When the Jesuits were expelled from Naples in 1767, the church passed to the Franciscan order. The Jesuits returned in 1821, only to be expelled again in 1848.
The vault frescos, representing biblical and saintly narratives that exalt the name of Jesus, were carried out by Belisario Corenzio and Paolo de Matteis. At the back of the facade is The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple (1725), a baroque masterpiece by Francesco Solimena. On the four pillars which support the dome are frescos of the four Evangelists, carried out by Giovanni Lanfranco. The inside of the dome had also been decorated by Lanfranco, but this was destroyed in the earthquake of 1688. Paolo de Matteis then repainted a new dome.[2] [3] The frescos of the life of the Virgin, placed on the second part of the vault up to the apse, are by Massimo Stanzione.
Surrounding the altar are three bronze bas-reliefs on a black marble base: on the left, The Supper at Emmaus (by Salvatore Irdi), on the right, The Promise of the Eucharist at Capernaum, and in the middle a reproduction of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. These last two bas-reliefs are by Gennaro Calì.
Above the altar, with didactic and historical symbols concerning the mystery of the Eucharist, are eight busts of saints who glorified the Eucharist. From left to right are medallions of Saints Juliana of Liège, Stanislaus Kostka, Thomas Aquinas, Francis Borgia, Gaetano Thiene, and the blessed Lanfranc of Canterbury. Gennaro Calì completed four medallions; the third and the fourth busts are by Costantino Labarbera.
The altar-piece displays the Virgin with Child Jesus and 3 Saint Martyrs, attributed to Giovanni Bernardino Azzolino (1560–1610).
The two imposing side Reliquaries, with 70 busts of saint martyrs in golden wood, were made in the most part in 1617 by the Neapolitan woodcarver Giovan Battista Gallone.
The Sacristy contains frescos by Aniello Falcone. The Lavabo, at the back, is a work in polychrome marbles made by Dionisio Lazzari.
See main article: Santa Chiara (Naples). The Church of Santa Chiara is a Gothic style church-convent built between 1310 and 1328 for the wife of Robert, King of Naples. It has a belfry that stands within the grounds at the northeast corner. The complex retains the citadel-like walls setting it apart from the outside world. The walls contained a vast religious community, and today contain the more modest convent of the Poor Clares and a community of the Grey Friars. The complex was expanded along Baroque architecture 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. The noteworthy monastic courtyard at the rear of the church is the result of renovation carried out by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro in the 1730s, for Maria Amalia of Saxony, wife of Charles III of Bourbon, King of Naples. The majolica tilework is characteristic of the school of Neapolitan ceramic from that period and was crafted by Donato Massa and his son, Giuseppe.
The Guglia dell'Immacolata is a monument that stands in the square in front of the church of Gesù Nuovo. It is the tallest and most ornamental of three such "plague columns" in Naples. Putatively, it was built to invoke the Virgin Mary's protection from the plague. Begun in the 17th century, it was completed only in 1750 after decades of pauses in construction. Sculptors Francesco Pagani and Matteo Bottiglieri worked on the rich Baroque decoration, prototypic of Neapolitan Baroque. It contains bas-relief depictions of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the Birth of the Virgin Mary and the Annunciation.