The Basilica of San Pietro ad Aram is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

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 ...

, Italy. It is located about a block from the church of the Santissima Annunziata on Corso Umberto I. Facciata Post Aram

History

The church is said to host the altar upon which St Peter preached while in Naples, and here he baptized the first Neapolitan converts to Christianity, Saint Candida and Saint Aspreno. In the 16th century, this church was granted by popes the status of celebrating ceremonial

Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered Biblical canon, canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot, Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by membe ...

for the remission of sins. The layout of the church is that of a Latin-Cross. The present structure, built between 1650 and 1690, owes its design to Pietro De Marino and Giovanni Mozzetta. The adjacent cloister was destroyed and fragments can be seen in the sacellum or shrine of Sant'Aspreno in piazza Borsa. The portal derives from the Conservatory ''dell'Arte della Lana'', in vico Miroballo. The vestibule has frescoes attributed to

Girolamo da Salerno Girolamo may refer to: * Girolamo (given name) * Girolamo (surname) See also * San Girolamo (disambiguation) San Girolamo may refer to: * San Girolamo, Italian for Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of S ...

. It has a

baldacchino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in ca ...

Giovan Battista Nauclerio Giovanni Battista Nauclerio (Naples, 1666 - Naples, 1739) was an Italian architect and engineer, active in Naples, Italy. Biography Nauclerio is described as one of the Naples architects who went against the grain, paving the way for columned n ...

. The first chapel on the right has a bas-relief depicting the ''Madonna delle Grazie'' by

Giovanni da Nola Giovanni da Nola (1478–1559), also known as Giovanni Merliano, was an Italian sculptor and architect of the Renaissance, active in Naples. He was born the son of a leather merchant, in Nola near Naples. Da Nola moved to Naples where he traine ...

; and an altarpiece of the ''Jubilee'' (1594) by

Wenzel Cobergher Wenceslas Cobergher (1560 – 23 November 1634), sometimes called Wenzel Coebergher, was a Flemish Renaissance architect, engineer, painter, antiquarian, numismatist and economist. Faded somewhat into the background as a painter, he is chiefly ...

. The right transept has a ''St Raphael'' by

Giacinto Diano Giacinto Diano or Diana (28 March 1731, Pozzuoli – 13 August 1803, Naples) was an Italian painter, active in Southern Italy in a style that mixes Rococo and Neoclassicism. Biography He began his training in the studio of Francesco De Mura, wh ...

, a ''Baptism of Christ'' by

Massimo Stanzione Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; Frattamaggiore 1585 – Naples 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. He was primarily a ...

, and a ''Madonna with St Felice da Cantalice'' by

Andrea Vaccaro Andrea Vaccaro (baptised on 8 May 1604 – 18 January 1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Vaccaro was in his time one of the most successful painters in Naples, a city then under Spanish rule. Very successful and valued in his li ...

. The presbytery has two canvases by

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Early l ...

: ''St Peter and St Paul hug before Martyrdom'' and a ''Consigning of the Keys to St. Peter''. The wooden choir (1661) was completed by Giovan Domenico Vinaccia. In the remaining chapels are paintings by Sarnelli,

Pacecco De Rosa Pacecco De Rosa (byname of Giovanni Francesco De Rosa; 17 December 1607 - 1656) was an Italian painter, active in Naples. Biography He was a contemporary of Massimo Stanzione or, according to others, a pupil of him. De Rosa was influenced by his ...

Cesare Fracanzano Cesare Fracanzano (c. 1609–1651), a Neapolitan painter who flourished in the 17th century, was a pupil of Spagnoletto. Born in Bisceglie, in Apulia by Alessandro, a nobleman originally from Verona and grow up in the artistic city of Barletta, ...

, and

Nicola Vaccaro Nicola Vaccaro (Naples, 13 March 1640 – Naples, 25 May 1709) was an Italian painter, theatre director and opera librettist in Naples. He was known for his religious and allegorical paintings who created easel paintings as frescos. He was a spe ...

. A crypt with paleochristian art is located below the church.

Bibliography

* Vincenzo Regina, ''Le chiese by Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spirituale della Napoli sacra'', Newton e Compton editore, Napoli 2004. * Antonio Emanuele Piedimonte, ''Napoli Segreta'', Edizioni Intra Moenia, 2006. * Translated from Italian Wikidpedia

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro ad Aram Basilica churches in Naples Catacombs Baroque architecture in Naples Roman Catholic churches completed in 1690 1690 establishments in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy