San Diego all'Ospedaletto, also known as ''San Giuseppe Maggiore'', is a Baroque-style church located on via Medina in the rione Carità in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. It is located across the street from the tall modern NH Ambassador Hotel and diagonal from the Palazzo Giordano and Questura. The name of ''San Giuseppe Maggiore'' derives from a church of that name belonging to Arciconfraternity of the ''Mannesi (i falegnami)'', that was demolished nearby in the 16th century. The church was commissioned by Giovanna Castriota in 1514, a lady of the court of Giovanna III dei Castriota. It became a hospital for the poor, and later passed on to the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Order of Friars Minor. The present building was reconstructed in 1595 and dedicated to Saint Diego of Alcalá. The original nave was frescoed by

Battistello 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, w ...

Andrea Vaccaro Andrea Vaccaro (baptised on 8 May 1604 – 18 January 1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Vaccaro was in his time one of the most successful painters in Naples, a city then under Spanish rule. Very successful and valued in his l ...

, and

Massimo Stanzione Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; 1585 – 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. He was primarily a painter of altarpiece ...

. Only the former's frescoed escaped destruction during the earthquake of 1688. The canvas by Stanzione of the ''Transit of St Joseph'' remains in the last chapel on right. Vaccaro painted a canvas of ''St Anthony of Padua'' in the church. The polychrome marble altar was designed by Giovan Battista Nauclerio and completed by Giuseppe de Filippo. On the counterfacade is a marble tomb (1703) of the Prince Piombini, by

Giacomo Colombo Giacomo Colombo (1663–1730) was an Italian sculptor, painter and engraver, he worked in Naples, Italy in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Biography Colombo was born in 1663 in Este, Padua, Italy. He moved to Naples in 1678. Colombo ...

, using designs by

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 ...

Bibliography

* Vincenzo Regina, ''Le chiese di Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spirituale della Napoli sacra'', Newton e Compton Editor, Naples 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diego all'Ospedaletto Naples Buildings and structures completed in 1595 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Diego all'Ospedaletto 1514 in Europe Baroque architecture in Naples Renaissance architecture in Naples