Pozzuoli Cathedral or the Basilica of San Procolo martire is the main Roman Catholic church in

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα� ...

and the seat of the

Diocese of Pozzuoli The Diocese of Pozzuoli ( la, Dioecesis Puteolana) is a Roman Catholic bishopric in Campania, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples,Rione Terra and is built around an ancient Roman temple.

History

Origins

The site probably originated as part of the town's

capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A capitolium was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the Augus ...

of the Greek or Samnite era, radically rebuilt in the Republican and Augustan eras. The church was first housed in a former Roman temple, the Temple of Augustus built by the rich merchant Lucius Calpurnius. Its dedicatory inscription survives, reading ''L. Calpurnius L.f. templum Aug. cum ornamentis d.s.f.'' (Lucius Calpurnius, son of Lucius, dedicated this temple and its ornamentation to Augustus at his own expense). It was designed by the architect

Cocceius Auctus Lucius Cocceius Auctus (1st century BC and 1st century AD) was a Roman architect employed by Octavian's strategist (and intended successor) Agrippa to excavate the subterranean passageways known as the ''crypta neapolitana'' connecting modern-day ...

on the remains of an earlier Republican temple built in 194 BC, which had been restored by

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

in 78 BC. The Temple of Augustus was a

pseudoperipteral A pseudoperipteros is a building with engaged columns embedded in the outer walls, except the front of the building. The form is found in classical architecture in ancient Greek temples, especially in the Hellenistic period. In Roman temples, th ...

exastyle temple, with nine fluted

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns along each long side and a rectangular

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extende ...

formed of white marble blocks. The whole temple was built without the use of mortar. Between the end of the 5th and the start of the 6th century the inhabitants of the town decided to rededicate the temple as a church to

Proculus of Pozzuoli Saint Proculus (Proclus) of Pozzuoli ( it, San Procolo) was martyred around 305 AD, according to Christian tradition, at the same time as Saint Januarius. He was martyred with: *Sossius or Sosius, deacon of Miseno ( it, Sosso, Sossio) *Festus, ...

. In 1538 it suffered major damage as Tripergole subsided and

Monte Nuovo Monte Nuovo ("New Mountain") is a cinder cone volcano within the Campi Flegrei caldera, near Naples, southern Italy. A series of damaging earthquakes and changes in land elevation preceded its only eruption, during the most recent part of the Ho ...

was formed. Bishop Gian Matteo Castaldo restored it, funding it by selling off all the episcopal stable-ware of the value of 200 gold ducats or less, for which he was given permission by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

on 16 June 1544.

1800–present

Next to the church was a chapel, initially dedicated to

James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

and first built in 1354 by prince

Louis of Taranto Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, husband of

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest daug ...

. It had been handed over to the canons of Pozzuoli in 1363 and rededicated as 'San Giacomo Reale' in 1500, possibly to distinguish it from the nearby Cioffis chapel or from what is now

Santa Maria della Consolazione Santa Maria della Consolazione is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy at the foot of the Palatine Hill, in rione Campitelli. History The church is named after an icon of the Virgin Mary which was placed on this site to console criminals who we ...

. It was rebuilt following the eruption of

in 1538 and entrusted to the confraternity dedicated to the Most Holy Body of Christ (Santissimo Corpo di Cristo), to which the chapel was rededicated at the same time. In 1817 it was annexed to the cathedral by bishop Carlo Maria Rosini and bishop

Michele Zezza Michele Zezza (Naples, 7 April 1850 – 26 June 1927) was a Roman Catholic patriarch and Catholic Archbishop of Naples, Italy. Biography Michele Zezza of the Barons of Zapponeta was born in Naples on 7 April 1850 and was ordained a priest on 21 Se ...

linked it to the former 12th century church of Santissima Trinità (reduced to a small chapel by various rebuilds and collapses) by knocking a hole to the right of the altar. He turned the Santissimo Corpo di Cristo chapel into a parish office. The cathedral itself was declared a national monument by a royal decree of 21 November 1940 and became a minor pontifical basilica by a bull of

pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on 25 November 1959. The central nave was completely destroyed by a fire on the night of 16–17 May 1964. It broke out in the upper regions of the wooden ceiling which covered the vaulted ceiling and became so hot that it affected the stone walls and Roman marble. The paintings were saved and re-housed in the sacristy, the Santissimo Corpo chapel, the Capodimonte, the San Martino and other museums and galleries in Naples. Restoration work began under the museologist Ezio De Felice in 1968 and for the next forty years

served as the city's cathedral, with

San Paolo San Paolo (Italian for "Saint Paul") is a ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia, in the Italian region Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region ...

added as a co-cathedral in 1995. The 1633 bell-tower was demolished in 1968 after removing three of its four historic bells and has not yet been replaced. Work was delayed by the total evacuation of the Rione Terra in 1970 due to

bradyseism Bradyseism is the gradual uplift (positive bradyseism) or descent (negative bradyseism) of part of the Earth's surface caused by the filling or emptying of an underground magma chamber or hydrothermal activity, particularly in volcanic calderas. ...

and poor housing conditions, by bureaucratic delays, by difficulties in raising funds and by an earthquake on 23 November 1980. Accelerated bradyseism in 1983–1984 led to the monument being totally abandoned in 1992, leading to vandalism and looting. A consortium named "Rione Terra" was formed and work resumed in 1994. Finally the Regione Campania launched an architectural competition for the restoration in July 2003. This was won by a group of architects under

Marco Dezzi Bardeschi Marco Dezzi Bardeschi (September 30, 1934 – November 4, 2018) was an Italian architect. He was a professor of Architectural Restoration at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He authored several books, and he was the founding editor of ''ANANKE ...

. Alessandro Pergoli Campanelli
''Il restauro del Tempio-Duomo di Pozzuoli''
' , "''L'Architetto italiano", VI, 35–36, gennaio-aprile 2010, pp. 8–13. The entrance is through the remains of the facade and the first two chapels of the Baroque cathedral, now presented as an uncovered

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

in front of the new glass facade, engraved with the destroyed front columns of the

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. Inside, it has a single nave formed of the ancient cella and pronaos, with the gaps between the columns along its long sides filled with glass. The temple floor has been raised back to its original level, creating an inclined

stylobate In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate ( el, στυλοβάτης) is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed (it is the floor of the temple). The platform was built on a level ...

floor with benches connecting to the chancel, which is on a lower level. This also creates space to display the archaeological remains of the Republican temple's podium in the basement. A new west-facing altar has been installed in the chancel, with an episcopal chair on the site of the old altar and a new marble

ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo Town, a town in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia ** Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zone ...

. The early 20th century frescoes in the choir have been restored and the paintings reinstated. The former sacristy and Santissimo Sacramento chapel have resumed their previous functions, now with a new tabernacle for the

reserved sacrament During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transu ...

References

Bibliography

* La cattedrale di Pozzuoli. Riscoperta del Rione Terra (Iniziative editoriali Quarto), curato da Giovanni Barrella. {{Coord, 40.8214, 14.1206, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Churches in Pozzuoli Cathedrals in Campania Basilica churches in Campania