Church of Santa Maria La Nova

The Church of Santa Maria la Nova is an architectural gem located in the heart of Naples, near Piazza Giovanni Bovio. Founded in 1279 by the will of Charles I of Anjou, the church was built on land donated to the Franciscan friars after the demolition of the Church of Santa Maria ad Palatium. The architect Giovanni Cola di Franco, between 1596 and 1599, built the current structure, also using materials from the old church. The exterior of the church, austere and Renaissance, features a facade divided into two orders of pilasters, with an entrance portal adorned with granite columns and a bas-relief of the Virgin. The facade is completed by a large window and ends with a decorated pediment. The bell tower, built on the ancient Maestra tower guarding the port of Naples, adds a further element of historicity to the structure. The interior of the church, in the shape of a Latin cross and a single nave, is paved with tiles and numerous tombstones. The golden wooden ceiling, made between 1598 and 1603, is decorated with forty-six panels by Neapolitan Mannerist artists, including Francesco Curia, Girolamo Imparato, and Fabrizio Santafede. These panels depict scenes from the life of Mary and Jesus, Marian symbols, and saints of the Franciscan Order. The walls of the nave are enriched with frescoes by Belisario Corenzio, executed between 1603 and 1605, representing articles of the Creed. The counter-facade is decorated with two paintings by Corenzio: the Madonna delle Grazie and the Punishment of the Damned. On each side of the nave, seven chapels open, each rich in works of art and funerary monuments. The first chapel on the left, dedicated to Saint Anne, houses a Holy Family by Vincenzo Scibelli and a Madonna with Child and Saint Michael by Aert Mytens. The second chapel, dedicated to Saint James of the Marches, contains works by Luca Giordano, Massimo Stanzione, and Giovanni Balducci. The third chapel features a canvas of Saint Francis Solano and the Franciscan martyrs, frescoes by Giovanni Battista Benaschi, and a Madonna with Child and Saints Philip and James by Imparato. The fourth chapel, patronized by the Venata d’Aquino family, is decorated with a statue of the Immaculate, frescoes by Benaschi, and a funerary monument by Domenico Morante. The fifth chapel, dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, houses a panel by Giuseppe Castellano and frescoes by the De Lione. The sixth chapel, dedicated to Saint Erasmus, is adorned with a marble altar by Pietro Nicolini and frescoes by Andrea De Lione. The seventh chapel, dedicated to Saint Onuphrius, features a fresco of two Putti attributed to Luca Giordano. On the right side, the first chapel, patronized by the Sanseverino family and dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, features marble works by Nicola Carletti, a panel by Dirk Hendricksz, and frescoes by Battistello Caracciolo. The second chapel, originally dedicated to the Blessed Salvatore d’Orta and then to the Nativity, contains a bas-relief by Girolamo Santacroce and frescoes by Agostino Beltrano and Benedetto Torre. The third chapel, dedicated to Calvary, houses a Crucifixion by Marco dal Pino and frescoes by Corenzio. The fourth chapel, patronized by the D’Afflitto family and consecrated to Saint Eustace, is decorated with a polyptych by Giovanni da Nola and frescoes by Giovanni Battista Benaschi. The fifth chapel, dedicated to Saint Bonaventure, features a canvas by Giuseppe Marullo, frescoes by Santillo Sannino, and a polychrome marble inlay by Francesco Balsimelli. The sixth chapel, dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, is decorated with works by Giuseppe Gallo, a triptych by the Master of Pere Roig de Corella, and frescoes by Onofrio De Lione. The seventh chapel, dedicated to Saint Peter of Alcantara, houses three paintings by Santillo Sannini.