San Pietro a Majella is a church in
Naples,
Italy. The term may also refer to the adjacent
Naples music conservatory, which occupies the premises of the monastery that used to form a single complex with the church.
The church stands at the western end of
Via dei Tribunali, one of the three parallel streets that define the grid of the historic center of Naples; the church is considered one of the most significant examples of
Angevin architecture in Naples and was built at the wishes of
Giovanni Pipino da Barletta, one of the knights of
Charles II of Anjou and the one responsible for destroying the last
Saracen colony on the southern peninsula, in
Lucera.
San Pietro a Majella was built in the early 14th century in
Gotico Angioiano style and was named for and dedicated to Pietro Angeleri da Morone, a hermit monk from Maiella (near
Sulmona) who became
Pope Celestine V in 1294. He was the founder of the Celestine monastic order, which occupied the church until 1799, when monasteries were suppressed by the
Neapolitan Republic. After the restoration of the monarchy, the monastery was reopened, but in 1826 was converted to house the
San Pietro a Maiella Conservatory, a function it preserves. The church underwent restoration in the 1930s and remains an open and active house of worship.
As was the case with much Angevin architecture in Naples, San Pietro a Majella underwent a Baroque make-over by the Spanish in the 17th century, but 20th-century restoration attempted to "undo" that and to restore the building to its original Gothic appearance.
Interior
The interior has three naves, separated by pillars supporting Gothic arches, with nine lateral chapels, plus four on each side of the chancel, and transept. The 14th century tomb of
Giovanni Pipino da Barletta, architect of the church, is placed on the counter-façade. The tomb was designed by
Giovanni Barrile, while the tombs of Petra family members are by the Neapolitan sculptor
Lorenzo Vaccaro.
The main altar was completed in the seventeenth-century, built by
Cosimo Fanzago, and
Pietro and
Bartolomeo Ghetti, is decorated with large vases and candlesticks in silver and preceded by a
balustrade covered in polychrome marbles. It stands on it a fifteenth-century wooden crucifix, while behind there are frescoes of the 17th century and 16th century sculptures.
The ceiling of the nave, with drawers, and the transept feature paintings by
Mattia Preti depicting Episodes from the life of St. Peter Celestine and Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1657–59).
The works on the nave, starting from the entrance, are:
Accompanied by Charles II of Anjou with the Cross, St Peter Celestine the hermit becomes Pope
St Peter Celestine in prayer at the Maiella church
Glory of St Peter Celestine in papal robes, accompanied by St. Benedict
St Peter Celestine in prayer at the Maiella church, suffering temptation
The saint with the tiara in hand, in the act of making the great refusal
The works of the transept, from left to right, are:
St Catherine defends her faith in dispute with the sophists
Develops stigmata in prison and assisted by the angels
Beheading of the saint in front of the tyrant
Maxentius
Mystic Marriage of St Catherine
Lifeless body of the saint, strewn with roses, is taken to heaven by angels
Chapels
First chapel on left: There is a painting by
Niccolo Rossi depicting Bishop San Biagio; chapel has
Maiolica tiles with designs typical of
Aragon.
Second chapel on left: This is the chapel of the Spinelli-Raetano family with two funerary monuments of the family of which the one on the left wall, is characterized by a bust of the Roman period depicting
Trajan. The Assumption of the Virgin (1705) painted by
Giacomo del Po.
Third chapel on left: Allows entry or exit, to
Piazza Luigi Miraglia through port placed under the bell tower.
Fourth chapel on left: Houses three tombs, one of which appears to be the tomb of the philosopher, physician and scientist
Leonardo Di Capua. The chapel is also characterized by decorations in marble and a Crucifixion by
Domenico Viola.
Fifth chapel on left: The chapel is dedicated to the Colonna-Zagarolo family. Contains three paintings by
Francesco De Mura: Preaching Santoronzo (altar ),Baptism of St. Horace (left wall) and Martyrdom of St. Horace (right wall).
Transept - Second to the left of the apse chapel (Chapel Pippin): The floor is majolica tiles and is marked by a monument of
Paul Salbana and
Giottesque frescoes depicting ‘’Stories of Mary Magdalene’’. The author of the frescoes from Bologna was identified with the anonymous "Master John Barrile" active in
Naples active in the Barrile Chapel of
San Lorenzo Maggiore. The cycle of frescoes may have been made earlier than 1356, the year
Giovanni Pepino, the buyer, died.
Transept on the right of the apse: Contains works of
Giovanni da Nola and
Onofrio De Leo. Of the first there is an altar with a Deposition (painting) and a sculpture of St Sebastian. The second there are two paintings, San Cristoforo da Padua with the host (1643) and San Francesco di Paola in front of the Kings of Aragon breaking a coin from which radiates blood, and other paintings depicting the Madonna, San Domenico, John the Baptist and St Francis.
Transept right of the apse chapel (Lionella Chapel): It has a cycle of frescoes dating depicting Stories of St. Martin (1355-1360). The chapel also has sculptures in marble, representing two arms of which one of the family Lionella and the other, the family Petra (whose chapel is located inside the church, to the left of the apse), depicting a lion rampant holding a stone in one paw and a severed head in the other.
First chapel on right: There is the tomb of the family Stinga.
Second chapel on right: There is a painting of St Benedict takes leave from St Scholastica by
Girolamo Cenatiempo.
Third chapel on right: The chapel was badly damaged during
World War II and contains an altar and a painting of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (1892). Both come from the destroyed Church of St Thomas Aquinas.
Fourth chapel on right: (Chapel of St. Peter): On the front is a painting by
Massimo Stanzione, the Madonna appearing to St Peter Celestine, while on the sides there are two paintings by Cenatiempo: on the right, Nativity of St Peter C., and left Death of St Peter Celestine (1711). Finally, in the vault and lunettes, also by Cenatiempo, are Apotheosis of St. Peter Celestine and allegorical figures.
Fifth chapel on right: There is a Marriage of St Catherine by Cenatiempo and a Dream of St Catherine by
Nicola Malinconico.