Januarius ( ; ;
Neapolitan and ), also known as , was
Bishop of Benevento and is a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
and
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
, and
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and
legends claim that he died during the
Great Persecution,
which ended with
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
's retirement in 305.
Januarius is the patron saint of
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, where the faithful gather three times a year in
Naples Cathedral
The Naples Cathedral (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...
to witness the
liquefaction
In materials science, liquefaction is a process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or that generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in accordance with fluid dynamics.
It occurs both naturally and artificially. As an example of t ...
of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass
ampoule
An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass.
Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...
.
Life
Little is known of the life of Januarius,
and what follows is mostly derived from later Christian sources, such as the ''Acta Bononensia'' (BHL 4132, not earlier than 6th century) and the ''Acta Vaticana'' (BHL 4115, 9th century), and from later folk traditions.
Legend

According to various
hagiographies, Januarius was born in
Benevento
Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...
to a rich patrician family that traced its descent to the
Caudini The Caudini were a Samnite tribe that lived among the mountains ringing Campania and in the valleys of the Isclero and Volturnus rivers. Their capital was at Caudium, but it seems certain that the appellation was not confined to the citizens of ...
tribe of the
Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...
. At a young age of 15, he became local priest of his parish in Benevento, which at the time had only a small Christian community. When Januarius was 20, he became
Bishop of Naples
The Archdiocese of Naples () is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was raised to the level of an Archdiocese in the 10 ...
and befriended
Juliana of Nicomedia and
Sossius whom he met during his studies for the priesthood. During the -year-long persecution of Christians by Emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
, he hid some of his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught. But while visiting Sossius in jail, he too was arrested. He and his colleagues were condemned to be thrown to wild bears in the
Flavian Amphitheater at
Pozzuoli, but the sentence was changed due to fear of public disturbance, and they were instead beheaded at the
Solfatara crater near Pozzuoli. Other legends state either that the wild beasts refused to eat him, or that he was thrown into a furnace but came out unscathed.
History
The earliest historical reference to Januarius is contained in a letter by Uranius,
bishop of Nola, dated to c.e 432 on the death of his mentor
Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola (; ; also Anglicisation, anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman Empire, Roman Roman poetry, poet, writer, and Roman senate, senator who attained the ranks of suffect ...
,
[Uranius Nolanius (432), ''De Vita et Obitu Paulini Nolani''. Published by Surius as ''Epistola "De Obitu Sancti Paulini" ]
Online version
accessed on 2009-06-20. where it is stated that the ghosts of Januarius and
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...
had appeared to Paulinus three days before his death in 431. About Januarius, the account says only that he was "bishop as well as martyr, an illustrious member of the Neapolitan church". The Acta Bononensia says that "At Pozzuoli in Campania
s honored the memoryof the holy martyrs Januarius, Bishop of Beneventum, Festus his
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
, and Desiderius
lector, together with
Sossius deacon of the church of
Misenum
Miseno is one of the ''frazione, frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italy, Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.
Geography
Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northw ...
,
Proculus, deacon of
Pozzuoli, Eutyches, and Acutius, who after chains and imprisonment were beheaded under the emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
".
Legacy
Celebrations

The
Feast of San Gennaro
The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian language, Italian: ''Festa di San Gennaro''), also known as San Gennaro Festival, is a Naples, Neapolitan and Italian-American patronal festival dedicated to Saint Januarius, patron saint of Naples and Little ...
is celebrated on 19 September in the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Church, it is celebrated on 21 April. The city of
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
has more than fifty official
patron saints, although its principal patron is Saint Januarius.
In the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the Feast of San Gennaro is also a highlight of the year for
New York's
Little Italy
Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
, with the saint's
polychrome
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors.
When looking at artworks and ...
statue carried through the middle of a
street fair
A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood.
The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...
stretching for blocks.
Relics

According to an early
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
, Januarius's
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s were transferred by order of
Severus,
Bishop of Naples
The Archdiocese of Naples () is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was raised to the level of an Archdiocese in the 10 ...
, to the
Neapolitan catacombs "
outside the walls" ('). In the early ninth century the body was moved to
Beneventum by
Sico,
prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
of
Benevento
Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...
, with the head remaining in Naples. Subsequently, during the turmoil at the time of
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
, his body was moved again, this time to the
Territorial Abbey of Montevergine where it was rediscovered in 1480.
At the instigation of Cardinal
Oliviero Carafa, his body was finally transferred in 1497 to
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, where he is the city's
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
. Carafa commissioned a richly decorated
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
, the ''Succorpo'', beneath the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
to house the reunited body and head properly. The ''Succorpo'' was finished in 1506 and is considered one of the prominent monuments of the
High Renaissance
In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
in the city.
Blood
Saint Januarius is famous for the annual liquefaction of his
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
Blood is com ...
, which, according to
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
, was saved by a woman called Eusebia just after the saint's death. A chronicle of Naples written in 1382 describes the cult of Saint Januarius in detail, but mentions neither the relic nor the miracle.
[(1382) ''Croniche de Inclyta Cità de Napole'' In Altamura, Antonio (ed.), ''Cronaca di Partenope'', Napoli, 1974] The first certain date is 1389, when it was found to have melted. Then, over the following two and a half centuries official reports began to appear declaring that the blood spontaneously melted, at first once a year, then twice, and finally three times a year. While the report of the very first incidence of liquefaction did not make any explicit reference to the skull of the saint, soon afterwards assertions began to appear that this relic was activating the melting process, as if the blood, recognizing a part of the body to which it belonged, "were impatient while waiting for its resurrection". This explanation was definitively abandoned only in the eighteenth century.
Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in Naples Cathedral three times a year: on 19 September (Saint Januarius's Day, commemorating his martyrdom), on 16 December (celebrating his patronage of Naples and its archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May (commemorating the reunification of his relics).
The blood is also said to spontaneously liquefy at certain other times, such as
papal
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
visits. It supposedly liquefied in the presence of
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
in 1848, but not that of
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
in 1979 or
Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...
in 2007. On March 21, 2015,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
venerated
Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...
the dried blood during a visit to
Naples Cathedral
The Naples Cathedral (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...
, saying the
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...
over it and kissing it.
Archbishop Sepe then declared that "The blood has half liquefied, which shows that Saint Januarius loves our pope and Naples."
Ritual liquefaction
The blood is stored in two hermetically sealed small
ampoule
An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass.
Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...
s, held since the 17th century in a
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''.
Relics may be the purported ...
between two round glass plates about 12 cm wide. The smaller, cylindrical ampoule contains only a few reddish spots on its walls, the bulk having allegedly been removed and taken to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
by
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
. The larger, almond-shaped ampoule, with a capacity of about 60
ml, is about 60% filled with a dark reddish substance.
[San Gennaro: Vescovo e martire](_blank)
(in Italian) Separate reliquaries hold bone fragments believed to belong to Saint Januarius.
For most of the time, the ampoules are kept in a bank vault, whose keys are held by a commission of local notables, including the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of Naples; the bones are kept in a
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
under the main altar of Naples Cathedral. On feast days, all these relics are taken in procession from the cathedral to the
Monastery of Santa Chiara, where the
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
holds up the reliquary and tilts it to show that the contents are solid, then places it on the high altar next to the saint's other relics. After intense prayers by the faithful, including the so-called "relatives of Saint Januarius" (''parenti di San Gennaro''), the content of the larger vial typically appears to liquify. The archbishop then holds up the vial and tilts it again to demonstrate that liquefaction has taken place. The announcement of the liquifaction is greeted with at the 13th-century
Castel Nuovo. The ampoules remain exposed on the altar for eight days, while the priests move or turn them periodically to show that the contents remain liquid.
Sir
Francis Ronalds
Sir Francis Ronalds Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (21 February 17888 August 1873) was an English scientist and inventor, and arguably the first History of electrical engineering, electrical engineer. He was knighted for creating the first wo ...
gives a detailed description of the May 1819 ritual in his travel journal.
The liquifaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, but can take hours or even days. Records kept at the Duomo tell that on rare occasions the contents fail to liquify, are found already liquified when the ampoules are taken from the safe, or liquify outside the usual dates.
Scientific studies

While the Catholic Church has always supported the celebrations, it has never formulated an official statement on the phenomenon and maintains a neutral stance about scientific investigations.
It does not permit the vials to be opened, for fear that doing so may cause irreparable damage. This makes close analysis impossible. Nevertheless, a spectroscopic analysis performed in 1902 by Gennaro Sperindeo claimed that the spectrum was consistent with
hemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...
. A later analysis, with similar conclusions, was carried out by a team in 1989. However, the reliability of these observations has been questioned.
While clotted blood can be liquefied by mechanical stirring, the resulting suspension cannot solidify again.
Measurements made in 1900 and 1904 claimed that the ampoules' weight increased by up to 28 grams during liquefaction. However, later measurements with a precision balance, performed over five years, failed to detect any variation.
Various suggestions for the content's composition have been advanced, such as a material that is
photosensitive Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light. In medicine, the term is principally used for abnormal reactions of the skin, and two types are distinguished, photoallergy and phototoxicity. ...
,
hygroscopic
Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption (chemistry), absorption or adsorption from the surrounding Natural environment, environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water mol ...
, or has a low melting point. However, these explanations run into technical difficulties, such as the variability of the phenomenon and its lack of correlation to ambient temperature.
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli & al. is that the vial contains a
thixotropic gel,
[;] In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of
hydrated iron oxide, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the 'blood' in the ampoule. The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily available locally since antiquity.
In 2010, Giuseppe Geraci, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Naples's
Frederick II University, conducted an experiment on a vial containing old blood—a relic dating back to the 18th century from the ''Eremo di Camaldoli'' near
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
—having the same characteristics of the blood of St. Januarius. Prof. Geraci showed that the Camaldoli relic also contains blood that can change its solid-liquid phase by shaking.
He further reproduced the phenomenon with his own blood stored in the same conditions as the Camaldoli relic. He stated that, "There is no univocal scientific fact that explains why these changes take place. It is not enough to attribute to the movement the ability to dissolve the blood, the liquid contained in the Treasure case changes state for reasons still to be identified."
He ultimately argued that "there's blood, no miracle".
A book by the historian of science Francesco Paolo de Ceglia recently traced the research of various scientists over the centuries to explain the phenomenon, which, according to him, has a thermal origin, since the (alleged) blood, in September, when the temperature is highest, is already extracted in liquid form from the tabernacle that stores it. In May it takes longer. And in December it takes much longer. This last annual ‘miracle’ did not take place for many years, but lately, with climate change and the rising temperature in Naples, it is happening more and more frequently.
Similar rites
Although Naples became known as "City of Blood" ('), legends of blood liquefaction are not a unique phenomenon. Other examples include vials of the blood of
Saint Patricia and Saint
John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
in the monastery of
San Gregorio Armeno, and of
Saint Pantaleon in
Ravello. In all, the church has recognized claims of miraculous liquefying blood for seven
or about twenty saints from
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
and virtually nowhere else.
[ The blood cults of the other saints have been discontinued since the 16th century, which noted skeptic James Randi takes as evidence that local artisans or ]alchemist
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
s had a secret recipe for manufacturing this type of relic. A team of three Italian chemists managed to create a liquid that reproduces all the characteristics and behavior of the liquid in the vial, using only local materials and techniques that were known to medieval workers. Jordan Lancaster leaves open the possibility that the practice was a Christian survival of a pagan ritual intended to protect the locals from unexpected eruptions from Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...
.[Jordan Lancaster, ''In the shadow of Vesuvius'', Tauris, 2005]
Museum of the Treasure of St. Januarius
The Treasure of St. Januarius is a collection of magnificent works and donations collected in seven centuries from popes, kings, emperors, famous and ordinary people. According to studies done by a pool of experts who have analyzed all the pieces in the collection, the Treasure of St. Januarius is of higher value than the crown of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
of Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. The Treasure is a unique collection of art masterpieces, kept untouched thanks to the Deputation of the Chapel of St Januarius, an ancient secular institution founded in 1527 by a vote of the city of Naples, still existing.
Today, the Treasure is exhibited in the Museum of the Treasure of St. Januarius, whose entrance is located on the right side of the Dome of Naples, under the arcades. By visiting the museum, the Chapel of San Gennaro is accessible even when the cathedral is closed.[. ]
See also
* Feast of San Gennaro
The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian language, Italian: ''Festa di San Gennaro''), also known as San Gennaro Festival, is a Naples, Neapolitan and Italian-American patronal festival dedicated to Saint Januarius, patron saint of Naples and Little ...
, as held annually in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas
* Order of St. Januarius
* Museum of the Treasure of St Januarius
* Saint Januarius, patron saint archive
Notes
References
External links
*
CICAP: "The Blood of St. Januarius"
New York's Feast of San Gennaro
by Doug Skinner, Fate
Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...
, July 2006
{{Authority control
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
3rd-century births
305 deaths
4th-century Italian bishops
Bishops of Naples
4th-century Christian martyrs
3rd-century Romans
Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian