Santi Apostoli is a Baroque-style church in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. Legend holds that a church at the site was built atop a Temple of Mercury by Emperor Constantine. Restored by the Caracciolo Family, it was ceded in 1570 to the Theatine Order. By 1590, the adjacent cloister and monastery was designed by Francesco Grimaldi. In the early 17th century was reconstructed by Giacomo Conforti. In 1638, the work was continued by Bartolomeo Picchiatti. In the 19th century, the Theatine order was suppressed and the church turned over in administrations. An earthquake damaged the dome. The church now belongs to the Liceo Artistico Statale di Napoli. The counter-facade and ceiling panels were frescoed by Giovanni Lanfranco in the 1640s. The panels contain the following depictions: a ''Martyrdom of Apostles Simone e Giuda''; a ''Martyrdom of St Thomas Apostle''; a ''Martyrdom of St Bartholomew''; a ''Martyrdom of St Matthew''; a ''Martyrdom of St John Evangelist''; a ''Glory of the Apostles'', ''Virtue'', ''Prophets'', ''Patriarchs'', and finally the four ''Evangelists'' on the

pendentives In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

of the dome. The cupola has a large fresco depicting ''Paradise'' (1684) by Giovanni Battista Benasca, who also painted the frescoes in the chapel of St Michael.Notizie del bello dell'antico e del curioso della città di Napoli
by Carlo Celano, Giovanni Battista Chiarini, Volume 2, page 617. This chapel has a painting by Marco da Siena The lunnettes in this chapel were painted by Giordano and Solimena. Over the main door is a painting of the Healing Pool by Viviani. The main altar was designed by

Fuga Fuga Island is an island and barangay located north of Luzon and is part of the Babuyan Islands, which is the second-northernmost island group of the Philippines. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the munic ...

. In the choir are five canvases by Solimena. The altar in the Filomarino Family Chapel at the right of the main altar, was designed (1647) by Borromini. The chapel has mosaics made by Giovanni Battista Calandra and copied from paintings by Reni. The relief on the altar of the four evangelist symbols is by

François Duquesnoy François Duquesnoy or Frans Duquesnoy (12 January 1597 – 18 July 1643) was a Flemish Baroque sculptor who was active in Rome for most of his career. His idealized representations are often contrasted with the more emotional character of Ber ...

, and two marble lions are by

Giuliano Finelli Giuliano Finelli (1601–1653) was an Italian Baroque sculptor who emerged from the workshop of Bernini. He was born in Carrara to a family of marble masons in a town associated with mining of the stone, and he initially trained with Michelangel ...

. The sacristy was built in 1626 using designs of

Ferdinando Sanfelice Ferdinando Sanfelice (1675 – 1 April 1748) was an Italian late Baroque architect and painter. Sanfelice was born in Naples and died there. He was one of the principal architects in Naples in the first half of the 18th century. He was a stude ...

. The crypt was frescoed by Belisario Corenzio.

References

Sources

* * Portions derived from Italian Wikipedia entry.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostoli Naples 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples Theatine churches