Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori (formerly church of Santa Maria della Redenzione dei Captivi) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located in via San Sebastiano #1 in the historic center of

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 rises on the South-Eastern corner of the intersection of Via San Sebastiano - Via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli, and the Vico San Pietro da Maiella and the outlet of the Via Port'Alba, a narrow alley starting at the medieval gate of Port'Alba. The Vico San Pietro da Maiella feeds into the southernmost end of Via dei Tribunali (the ''Decumanus Maximus'' of the ancient city), corner with via San Sebastiano, and on the Vico, neighboring to the east and behind the church, stands the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella.

History

The church was founded in the second half of the 16th century by a charitable organization that arose in 1548, almost certainly affiliated if not the same as the

Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...

, with the aim of freeing captive Christians who had been captured by Muslim navies and brigands. Sometime they arranged exchanges of similarly enslaved Muslims for their Christian counterparts. Once the association had operated with the church of

San Domenico Maggiore, Naples San Domenico Maggiore is a Gothic, Roman Catholic church and monastery, founded by the friars of the Dominican Order, and located in the square of the same name in the historic center of Naples. History The square is bordered by a street/alle ...

, but began construction of this new church on land ceded to them by the Celestines from the nearby church of San Pietro a Majella, Naples. Redenzione Captivi2

In 1706, the church, including the facade with its

volutes A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

and obelisk decoration, was rebuilt by

Ferdinando Sanfelice Ferdinando Sanfelice (1675 – 1 April 1748) was an Italian late Baroque architect and painter. Sanfelice was born in Naples and died there. He was one of the principal architects in Naples in the first half of the 18th century. He was a stude ...

. Further reconstructions were performed in 1715 and 1836. This church houses the relics of St

Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosop ...

, gave up his status as a nobleman to follow his vocation to become a priest. He is depicted at the feet of the Virgin, to whom he was devoted, laying down his sword, and vowing to dedicate to the priesthood.

The interior

The nave has an extensive stucco decoration. The counterfacade was painted (1571-1618) by ''Teodoro d'Errico'' (the Italian name for Flemish painter Dirck Hendricksz): it contains a painting of the ''Angel of Annunciation'', on right and a ''Madonna of the Annunciation'', on the left. The paintings of the side altars are: *''St Anne'', first altar on right, by

Giuseppe Simonelli Giuseppe Simonelli (Naples, c.1650–1710) was an Italian painter, active in a late-Baroque style. Biography Born in Naples around 1650, Simonelli was one of the most important painters of the school of Luca Giordano. His early works were often ...

*''St Francis of Assisi'', second altar on right 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 ...

*''St Nicola di Bari'', third altar on right, Malinconico *''St Carlo Borromeo'', first altar on left, Malinconico *''St Francesco di Paola'', second altar on left, Malinconico *''St Celestine V and Anthony of Padua'', third altar on left by

Both Simonelli and Malinconico were students of Luca Giordano. The main altarpiece is a canvas depicting the ''Ransom of Slaves'' (1672), by

Giacomo Farelli Giacomo Farelli (1629 in Naples – 26 June 1706) was an Italian painter active in Naples. Biography He trained under Andrea Vaccaro, whose style he at first followed, but he afterwards imitated with more success that of Guido Reni and Luca Gio ...

, which depicts the Virgin with the child between whose arms above a group of slaves awaits redemption by the arrival of a boat. The main altar was restored by Sanfelice and Lorenzo Fontana. The putti there were sculpted by

Domenico Antonio Vaccaro Domenico Antonio Vaccaro (June 3, 1678 – June 13, 1745) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect. He created many important sculptural and architectural projects in Naples. His later works are executed in an individualistic Rococo s ...

Bibliography

*Vincenzo Regina, ''Le chiese di Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spirituale della Napoli sacra'', Newton and Compton Editor, Naples 2004.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Mercede Alfonso Maria de' Liguori Roman Catholic churches in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1706