San Francesco di Paola is a prominent church located to the west in

Piazza del Plebiscito Piazza del Plebiscito (; nap, Chiazza d''o Plebbiscito) is a large public town square, square in central Naples, Italy. History Named after the plebiscite taken on October 21, 1860, that brought Naples into the unified Italian unification#Creat ...

, the main square of

Naples, Italy 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 ...

. In the early 19th century, King

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

of Naples (

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's brother-in-law) planned the entire square and the large building with the colonnades as a tribute to the emperor. When Napoleon was finally dispatched, the Bourbons were restored to the throne of Naples. Ferdinand I continued the construction - finished in 1816 - but converted the final product into the church one sees today. He dedicated it to Saint Francis of Paola, who had stayed in a monastery on this site in the 16th century. The church is reminiscent of the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

in Rome. The façade is fronted by a portico resting on six columns and two Ionic pillars. Inside, the church is circular with two side chapels. The dome is high. The portico is by Neapolitan architect Leopoldo Laperuta, while the main building is by the Swiss architect .

Interior

The interior has a number of statues: a ''San Giovanni Crisostomo'' by Gennaro Calì, ''Sant'Ambrogio'' by

Tito Angelini Tito Angelini (1806–1878) was an Italian sculptor and leader of the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, where he was born and died. Biography Fountain of the River Amenano in the Piazza del Duomo, Catania His father, Costanzo Angelini, born ...

, ''St Luke'' by Antonio Calì, a ''St Matthew'' by Carlo Finelli, a ''St John Evangelist'' by Pietro Tenerani, ''St Mark'' by Giuseppe de Fabris, a ''Sant'Agostino'' by Tommaso Arnaud, and a ''Sant'Attanasio'' by Angelo Solani. In the chapels on the right, we find the following altarpieces: ''San Nicola da Tolentino'' and ''St Francis of Paola receives a stem of charity from an Angel'', by Nicola Carta, ''Final Communion of San Ferdinando di Castiglia'' by

Pietro Benvenuti Pietro Benvenuti (8 January 1769 – 3 February 1844) was an Italian neoclassical painter. Biography Born in Arezzo in Tuscany, he was influenced by the style of Jacques-Louis David. He was a student of the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, th ...

, a ''Transit di St Joseph'' by Camillo Gerra, the ''Immaculate Conception and the death of Sant'Andrea Avellino'' by Tommaso de Vivo. Before the main altar, is a 1641 work by Anselmo Cangiano, transferred here in 1835, from the church of the Santi Apostoli. In the apse is a painting of ''St Francis of Paola resuscitates a dead man'' by

Vincenzo Camuccini Vincenzo Camuccini (22 February 1771 – 2 September 1844) was an Italian painter of Neoclassic histories and religious paintings. He was considered the premier academic painter of his time in Rome. Biography Camuccini was born in Rome, and fi ...

. In the sacristy is an ''Immaculate Conception'' by

Gaspare Landi Gaspare Landi (6 January 1756 – 28 February 1830) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassic period, active in Rome and his native city of Piacenza. Biography Landi is said to have been a fun-loving youth, but in 1781 he procured a subsidy to ...

and a ''Circumcision of Jesus'' by Antonio Campi

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Di Paola Naples Religious organizations established in 1816 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1816

Francesco di Paola Francis of Paola, O.M., (or: Francesco di Paola or Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507) was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Minims. Unlike the majority of founders of men's religiou ...

Neoclassical architecture in Naples 1816 establishments in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1816 establishments in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Neoclassical church buildings in Italy