Church of San Giovanni Maggiore

The Church of San Giovanni Maggiore, located in the historic center of Naples, is one of the oldest and most fascinating testimonies of the city’s religious architecture. Founded presumably in the 6th century, it stands on a pre-existing pagan temple, perhaps dedicated to Hercules or Antinous. The church has undergone numerous reconstruction and restoration interventions over the centuries, reflecting the main historical and artistic periods that have crossed Naples, from the early Christian to the Baroque, to the Neoclassical. Legend has it that Constantine the Great ordered the construction of the church to thank God for the escape from danger of a shipwreck of his daughter Costanza. Although this story has no historical confirmation, it adds an aura of mystery and sacredness to the place. The church was renovated by Bishop Vincenzo in the 6th century and included among the four main basilicas of the city, along with San Giorgio Maggiore, Santi Apostoli, and Pietrasanta. The original structure was rich in mosaics and domes, testifying to the prosperity and importance of the local Christian community during the Byzantine domination. Subsequently, the church underwent significant transformations during the Norman and Angevin periods. It was during these periods that the side aisles were widened and the transept was rebuilt. In 1635, an earthquake severely damaged the church, and in 1656, Dionisio Lazzari was entrusted with the task of restructuring it. Lazzari introduced Baroque elements, such as the double dome, a unique architectural solution in the city. However, further earthquakes in 1732 and 1805, followed by another earthquake in 1870, caused extensive damage, destroying part of the right nave and causing the vault to collapse. During the Neoclassical restorations commissioned by Canon Giuseppe Perrella in 1872, based on the design of engineer Giorgio Tomlison and with corrections by Errico Alvino and Federico Travaglini, the church assumed its current appearance. The 19th-century ceiling, built after the 1870 earthquake, featured three large pictorial representations, including the Baptism of Jesus and other scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, executed by Nicola Montagono and Domenico Leggieri. Unfortunately, a new collapse of the vault in 1970 destroyed these works, forcing the church to close for forty-two years. During the restoration works of the 1970s, important evidence of the early Christian era was found, such as the semicircular apse under the seventeenth-century wooden choir, now moved to the oratory of the LXVI Priests. The restoration also brought to light two panels of the ancient calendar of the Neapolitan church, engraved in 887, now preserved in the Archdiocese of Naples. Among the works of art present in the church, worthy of note are the seventeenth-century paintings by an unknown Neapolitan author and the Adoration of the Magi from the workshop of Andrea Sabatini. Some of these works have been placed in city museums to protect them from further damage, as in the case of the Marriage of the Virgin and Jesus in the workshop of St. Joseph attributed to Diana De Rosa, now at the Diocesan Museum of Naples. In January 2012, the church was finally reopened thanks to the intervention of the Order of Engineers of the Province. Since then, in addition to returning as a consecrated place of worship, the basilica frequently hosts cultural events, becoming a point of reference not only religiously but also socially and culturally for the Neapolitan community. The interior of the church, with its Latin cross plan and three naves, is enriched by a double dome designed by Lazzari, a main altar by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, and two Roman columns in cipollino marble from the 6th century. The crypt, accessible from a staircase to the left of the main entrance, has three naves with sail vaults and an eighteenth-century altar decorated with the altarpiece of the Madonna of the Rosary. The left nave preserves important artistic testimonies, including the Chapel of the Paleologi, with a sixteenth-century fresco of the Madonna with Child and a wooden sculpture of the blessing St. John from the fourteenth century. The Ravaschieri Chapel houses a marble altarpiece by Giovanni da Nola, while the Chapel of St. Anne is decorated with a wooden sculpture by Gennaro Vassallo.