Santa Maria Avvocata is a Catholic church located at the end of Via Avvocata in Piazza Dante in the Historic Center of Naples, Italy.

History

The church building dates back to the 16th century, when the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

priest Alessandro Mollo built a church with a small convent. By the end of the century, Cardinal

Alfonso Gesualdo Alfonso Gesualdo di Conza (20 October 1540 – 14 February 1603) was an Italian Cardinal starting in 1561. He was from Calitri, not far from Naples. His attendance at the papal conclave of 1565-1566 at the age of only 25 makes him one of the you ...

, the Archbishop of Naples, had purchased the complex and raised it to the status of a parish church. In the subsequent centuries, the church was remodeled in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style common to many of the churches in Naples. The facade was re-designed by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

. The center of the parish was then moved from Santa Maria Avvocata to the nearby

Church of San Domenico Soriano Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. The nave is bright and full of decorations and festoons. Its plan is rectangular and the high altar is made of multicolored marble. The design of the interior is similar to that of the nearby

Church of Sant'Antonio a Tarsia Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. Several frescoes inside are by Luca Giordano and

Vincenzo Galloppi Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art *Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bella ...

. On the left side of the facade is a door that leads to the quarters of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament of Avvocata, where there are frescoes by

Andrea dell'Asta Andrea dell'Asta (c. 1673–1721) was an Italian painter of the late-baroque period. Biography Born in Bagnoli Irpino, he died in Naples. He trained with Francesco Solimena, and worked for a time in Rome, carefully studied the works of Raffa ...

and

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...

References

{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Naples 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque church buildings in Naples

History

See also

References