The Chiesa del Santissimo Crocifisso e Anime Sante del Purgatorio (''Church of the Very Holy Crucifix and Holy Souls of Purgatory''), known in general as the Chiesa del Purgatorio, is a neoclassical-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on Strada Gesù #20 in

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

, in the

metropolitan city of Naples The Metropolitan City of Naples ( it, Città metropolitana di Napoli) is an Italian metropolitan city in Campania region, established on 1 January 2015. Its capital city is Naples; within the city there are 92 comunes (municipalities). It was ...

, region of

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of 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 Islands and the i ...

, Italy.

History

The church was built between 1795 and 1802 by design of the architect Antonio Ciofi, with a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

layout, and a façade with a portico of

ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

. The church was commissioned by a local confraternity. The crossing has a small dome, whose exterior is decorated with yellow and green maiolica tiles. The nave is separated by 12 columns from the two aisles. Two lateral altars have canvases depicting the '' Madonna del Carmelo'' and the ''

Archangel Raphael Raphael (, "God has healed"), ''Rəfāʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Răp̄āʾēl''; lit. 'God has healed'; grc, Ραφαήλ, ''Raphaḗl''; cop, ⲣⲁⲫⲁⲏⲗ, ''Rafaêl''; ar, رافائيل, ''Rāfā’īl'', or , ''Isrāfīl''; am, ሩፋ� ...

''. The main altar is meant to represent the empty tomb of the ''Virgin of the Assumption'', and is surmounted by a wooden statue (prior to 1823) of that Marian icon. The work is attributed to the studio of Francesco and Giuseppe Verzella. Another icon in the church, depicting ''St. Anne and the child Mary'' is also attributed to the same artists. In the oratory of the confraternity, is a canvas depicting ''

Madonna del Buon Consiglio Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

'', '' Santa Lucia'', and an ''

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

'' (circa 1835) by

Lorenzo Giusti Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo ...

.Comune of Castellammare
entry on church, derived from E. Valcaccia, Le Confraternite nel Centro Antico di Castellammare di Stabia, Castellammare di Stabia 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purgatoria Castellammare Roman Catholic churches in Castellammare di Stabia Neoclassical architecture in Campania 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1802 Neoclassical church buildings in Italy