The church of the Croce di Lucca is a religious edifice in central Naples, Italy, on the

Via dei Tribunali Via dei Tribunali is a street in the old historic center of Naples, Italy. It was the main ''decumanus'' or Decumanus Maggiore — that is, the main east-west street—of the ancient Greek and then Roman city of Neapolis, paralleled to the sout ...

In 1534, the husband and wife, Andrea Sbarra and Cremona Spinelli founded at this site a monastery of the Carmelites. It was devoted to the image of the crucifix, similar to one venerated in Lucca. Two years later, the widowed Spinelli became a nun. Later endowments came from the Prince of Altamura, who had five daughters join the order: Aurelia, Maria, Elena, Eleonora, and Elisabetta del Giudice. The church we see now was decorated in the 17th century, and remains despite the demolition of the once adjacent monastery. The monastery is now replaced with medical clinics of the University of Naples. The interior was decorated on designs by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti. The nave ceiling has 16th century paintings depicting the ''

Madonna del Carmine Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount C ...

and Saints'' attributed to

Giovanni Battista Caracciolo Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (also called Battistello) (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. He was a member of the murderous Cabal of Naples, with Belisario Corenzio and Giambattista Caracciolo, wh ...

. Other works made for the church include puttini a chiaroscuro over the arches of the chapels by

Giovanni Battista Rossi Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

, pupil of Solimena. The first chapel on the left, has an ''Annunciation'' attributed to either

Francesco Curia Francesco Curia (1538–1610) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in his hometown of Naples. He was the son of the painter Michele Curia. He was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Filippo Criscuolo. Among his pupils were ...

or Manchelli, a pupil of

Marco da Siena Marco Pino or Marco da Siena (1521–1583) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance and Mannerist period. Born in Costalpino and first trained in Siena, he later worked in Rome and in Naples, where he died. He was putatively a pupil of the pain ...

. The second chapel has paintings of ''Saints Domenico & Monica'' by

Nicola Malinconico Nicola Malinconico (16631721) was a Neapolitan painter of the late-Baroque. He is described as a follower of Luca Giordano, and painted mostly religious canvases. He painted the chapel altarpieces for the church of St Michele Arcangelo in Anacapri ...

. The third chapel has a ''Santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi'' by the studio of Vaccaro. The altar and tabernacle are attributed to a Sanfelice in 1684. It has paintings by Giovanni Battista Rossi. The first chapel on the left had a ''Virgin of the Rosary'' by Balducci. The second, a ''Santa Teresa'' by a follower of Vaccaro. The third chapel has paintings and frescoes by

. A wooden Virgin sculpture was attributed to

Domenico di Nardo Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

. The sacristy frescoes are attributed to

Lionardo Olivieri Leonardo Antonio Olivieri or Oliviero (February 23, 1689 – June 7, 1752) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque. Biography He initially trained in his native town of Martina Franca in Puglia, under his uncle. He then moved to Naples ...

, also a pupil of Solimena.Commune of Naples
short description of church.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce di Lucca Naples Former churches in Naples 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples