Naples is so much more than just piazza and Pompeii. Naples is a vibrant, exciting city, bursting with history, archaeological sites, shopping, and an abundance of art. Every artistic era and style and genre is here, and in surprising volume.
For centuries the two cultural centers of Europe were Paris and Naples. The most famous musicians in history coveted playing the Teatro San Carlo. From Mozart to Verdi, from Pavarotti to Maria Callas. Operas opened here, everyone wanted to perform here.
Artists came too, from as far back as at least 2300 B.C, through every era that followed until today, Naples has been an art hotspot. Did you know it was one of the main centers of renaissance art? Naples is amazing.
Whether you are an art aficionado or just have a fleeting interest in art, no trip to Naples is complete without seeing at least one of the following masterpieces:
Botticelli: Madonna And Child With Two Angels
Painted in around 1468, here we see a beautiful, pensive Mary, lost in thought, while two angels lift a column baby Jesus up to her. Mary gently caresses her baby’s feet as he extends his arms to her, almost spellbound by her beauty.
This masterpiece is at the Capodimonte museum up on the hill. You can combine a visit to the museum (it’s amazing!) with a walk in the park and gardens of the former royal family, taking in the astounding views across the bay to Capri and the Sorrento Peninsula, with Vesuvius looming off to your left.
Location: Capodimonte Museum
Jago: Pietà
I have a chapter about Jago (Yah – Goh) in my best selling Naples travel guide: Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Naples. He is quite simply the most exciting artist of my lifetime.
Jago is a self taught sculptor who takes historical themes such as the Pietà, and puts his own spin on them. He leaves it to the viewer to decide who the players are. His Pietà has a man in the throws of absolute agony, holding the body of his dead son. We get to decide who it is. A Palestinian in Gaza? The father from a school shooting in the U.S? Someone whose child died from cancer/Covid/a car crash? A father with a child who drowned during a boat crossing to Greece? I tend to attribute whichever horrendous story is in the news that day.
You’ll find yourself wondering how someone can take a cold slab of stone and infuse it with so much emotion you can barely breathe. Jago is just magic.
Also exciting is his exhibition space. He restored an abandoned church in a formerly run down part of town (that has now become one of the coolest neighborhoods in Naples)
Location: the Jago Museum is at the Church of Sant’ Aspreno Ai Crociferi, Piazza Crociferi, 4
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Caravaggio: The Seven Works Of Mercy
I go into great detail about this masterpiece in the book. There are so many stories within the main story, and each character is taken from another piece of history. I definitely recommend reading this one chapter before coming to Naples – once you understand what’s happening, the painting becomes even more sensational!
I also tell you about a tremendous book called The Guardian Of Mercy, by Terence Ward. While living in Florence several years ago, the author and his girlfriend made multiple trips to Naples and befriended the custodian charged with watching over the painting. The book is fantastic and will have you clamoring to get to Naples. You’ll end up putting the Caravaggio at the top of your must-see list in Naples!
Location: This huge altarpiece is in the Church of Pio Monte Della Misericordia, in the heart of Naples’ historic center.
San Martino: The Veiled Christ
Only 5 minutes’ walk from the Caravaggio you can see another brain-bindingly brilliant work of art, The Veiled Christ. Carved from a single block of white marble, a freshly deposed Jesus lies with a diaphanous veil draped over his body. In places the humidity of Naples or maybe the sweat from his body(?) makes the veil cling to him. It is so life-like it will take your breath away.
The sculpture is so lifelike that when the piece was completed in 1753, people thought there was a dead body beneath the veil.
Again, I have an entire chapter in my book telling you about this piece as well as a multitude of completely fascinating things to look for while in this tiny church. The chapel was built for the Prince of Sansevero, who amongst other things was a freemason. From the official entrance to the chapel (not the one we go through) initiates could follow a series of secret symbols hidden in the sculptures, the walls and other interesting spots. I give you a road map of them in the book.
Location: The San Severo Chapel, Naples’ historic center.
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Guido Mazzoni: Lamentation Over The Dead Christ
Guido Mazzoni’s Lamentation Over The Dead Christ (1492) is a life sized group of terracotta sculptures. Jesus has been deposed from the cross and lies on a stone in front of you. Joseph of Arimathea kneels on the left and Nicodemus is on the right. The Virgin Mary is behind Jesus’ head, overwhelmed with pain to the point of fainting, as Mary of Salome reaches out to help her. To the right, Mary of Cleophas clasps her hands, opposite Mary Magdalene crying out in desperation. The final figure in the back is John the Evangelist.
Part of what made this, the last of Mazzoni’s Lamentations, so compelling is the crushing level of emotion in the piece. Standing in front of it you feel an intensity and sense of urgency to it. It’s quite fantastic.
Location: The Church of Sant’ Anna dei Lombardi, historic center of Naples. Be sure to read the entire chapter on this church complex. There is an incredible amount to see here, (some of it will blow your mind) and you will absolutely want to know about all of it before coming. Trust me.
I really hope you will come to Naples, be it for a day trip from Rome or the Amalfi Coast, or to stay for a few nights. Naples feels like the last great secret. There is so much to see and do here and most people don’t have a clue! I have had so many people reach out to me to say they’d been to Naples several times yet had never heard about most of the things in my book.
Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Naples is available worldwide in paperback and ebook formats, exclusively on Amazon.
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