The Porta San Gennaro is one of the ancient gates of the city of Naples, located just southwest of the edge of the Piazza Cavour, just off the busy Via Foria and leading to a pedestrian alley, just east and parallel to Via Duomo.

History

This is not the original location of this gate, which documents state was the original portal which lead north out of the city, and towards the Catacombs of San Gennaro. Documents from before the year 1000 speak of a gate of this name, legend holds that it was around during the time of the late Roman Empire. It appears to have once stood some 100 meters south on the same alleyway, adjacent to the church of Gesù delle Monache, and moved in 1537 by the Spanish viceroy

Don Pedro de Toledo Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

, in his efforts to enlarge the city. In doing so, he razed the towers that flanked the gate. These were likely similar to those now flanking the

Porta Capuana The Porta Capuana is an ancient city gate in Naples, Italy. The gate also gives name to the zone, which is one of the ten boroughs of Naples. This zone being part of the Fourth Municipality. In spite of the name, the portal is not the ancient ...

. The Gate houses a small chapel, and the northern approach has a restored fresco (1656) belonging to

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Cava ...

, the sole remainder of frescoes he painted at seven town gates, this one depicting ''San Gennaro and Francis Xavier showing devotion to the Immaculata and Child'' as an ex voto to spare the town from the plague. The southern approach has a ''Bust of San Gaetano'' (1659) by Bartolomeo Mori placed by members of the

Theatine order The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

. The inside gate, adjacent to an

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...

of the Virgin, has a small chapel-church, San Francesco dei Cocchieri, now deconsecrated and shuttered.Incontri Napoletani
by Association of Art and Culture of Naples.

References

Gates of Naples {{Italy-struct-stub