Santa Maria dell'Aiuto or ''Holy Mary of Succour'' is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style church, located at Vico S Maria dell'Aiuto number 10, near the church of Santa Maria la Nova 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

History

Legend holds that the origins are of the church were in 1635, when two now anonymous children of the laborers of the quartiere, posted their juvenile image of the Madonna and child. Gaining donations, they commissioned the image now in the main altar. The devotion to this image of the Madonna rose during the plague year of 1656, and further donations allowed the church to be built. The designs of

Dionisio Lazzari Dionisio Lazzari (17 October 1617 – 9 August 1689) was an Italian sculptor and architect. He was born in Naples in 1617, the son of Jacopo Lazzari and Caterina Papini. Jacopo was born in Florence, and his and Dionisio's work shows Tuscan i ...

led to completion and consecration of the church in 1673. The miracles and intercessions by the Madonna are registered in a book kept in the parochial archive, plus evident in the numerous votive marble plaques in the church. The church facade has a tall narrow scroll decoration, the interior follows a Greek cross plan with a central dome. It has undergone various restorations; the most recent was in 1983, after the earthquake of 1980. The church entrance has a number of works of art by the artist

Gaspare Traversi Gaspare Traversi (c. 1722 – 1 November 1770) was an Italian Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymme ...

, who is best known for his genre paintings. He painted a ''Birth of Mary'', an ''Annuciation'', and "Assumption of the Virgin". The painting of the ''Archangel Saint Michael'' is attributed to Giacinto Diano. The architect Lazzari designed the main altar, the interior balustrades, and the base of the funereal monument for Gennaro Acampora, rector of the church. The revered icon on the main altar is anonymous. The amphora of the prior monument and the flanking angels holding the candelabra were sculpted by

Francesco Pagano Francesco Pagano, ( fl. 1471–1506) was an Italian painter working primarily in Spain. His date of birth is not known. Pagano was active in Valencia, and primarily painted religious-themed works for local churches. He is credited with helping i ...

. A painting of ''The Virgin of Succour'' is by Giuseppe Farina; while the ''Flight of Joseph'' is 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 ...

A later Neoclassic style monument from the early 20th century is the funereal monument for Francesco di Gennaro, rector of the church from 1889 to 1907.Guida Sacra della citta di Napoli
per Gennaro Aspreno Galante, 1873, page 142.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Aiuto Naples Churches in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy