Santa Maria Regina Coeli 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 in central

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

After the earthquake of 1561 damaged their original house in Naples, nuns from the order of the Canonesses Regular of the Lateran (female branch of the Canons Regular of the Lateran) moved to the Palazzo Montalto, adjacent to the monastery of San Gaudioso.Gennaro Aspreno Galante, ''Guida sacra della città di Napoli'', 1872 Here they made a new convent dedicated the ''Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven'' (Regina Coeli). The present church was built by 1594 under the direction of Luciano Quaranta. The building was reconstructed by

Giovanni Vincenzo Della Monica Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

, then later by Giovanni Francesco di Palma; and finally by

Francesco Antonio Picchiatti Francesco Antonio Picchiatti (10 January 1619, Ferrara – 28 August 1694, Naples) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period active in Naples. He is also called Picchetto. He was son of Bartolommeo Picchiatti, who also served as an architec ...

in 1682. In 1812, the nuns were transferred to the Monastery of Gesù e Maria and in their place moved in the Sisters of Charity of Saint

Jeanne-Antide Thouret Jeanne-Antide Thouret (27 November 1765 - 24 August 1826;Rogatti, p. 441 also called Joan Antide Thouret and Jane Antide) was born in Sancey, in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, on November 27, 1765, the fifth child of a poor and "d ...

. This order still owns the complex in 2014. The entrance is preceded by two staircases leading to a pronaos with arcades, which was frescoed (1594) by the Flemish painter Loise Croys, pupil of Paul Bril. To the right of the sacristy, rises an octagonal bell-tower next to Via Pisanelli. The interior has decoration from the 18th century. The wooden ceiling was designed by Pietro De Marino, and holds canvases by Stanzione; By the windows are painting by Luca Giordano,

Micco Spadaro Domenico Gargiulo called Micco Spadaro ( – ) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Naples and known for his landscapes, genre scenes, and history paintings. Life Domenico Gargiulo was the son of a sword maker. Th ...

, Giovan Battista Beinaschi, and Pietro del Pò. The apse has a dome, stuccoed in 1683, while the altar was completed in the 17th century by Giovanni Mozzetta. The walls have frescoes by

Pietro Bardellino Pietro Bardellino (1728–1806) was an Italian painter. He lived his life aiming to be the ‘perfect man’. Biography Bardellino was born in Naples, and was initially trained by Francesco de Mura. In 1773 he became director of the ''Accademia Na ...

. Other frescoes in the church are by

Lorenzo Vaccaro Lorenzo Vaccaro (1655 – 10 August 1706) was an Italian late-Baroque sculptor. He worked in a formalized restrained style. He was born in Naples, the son of a lawyer. He apprenticed with Cosimo Fanzago and Dionisio Lazzari. He was a close frie ...

. In the fourth chapel is a painting by Giordano, and in the sacristy hangs a ''Pietà'' by Filippo Vitale.

The cloister

The cloister has a bust of ''San Vincenzo de' Paoli'' and by ''Santa Giovanna Antida Thouret''. Reconstructions were carried out in 1599, and further work in the convent occurred in the second half of the 17th century by the architect

. Image:InternoCoeli.jpg, Nave Image:Napoli Santa Maria Regina Coeli.jpg, Ceiling frescoes at the entrance Image:Chiostro regina ok.jpg, The cloister

References

Bibliography

*Maria Rosaria Costa, ''I Chiostri di Napoli'', Editor, Tascabili Newton. *''Napoli sacra. Guida alle chiese della città'', coordinamento scientifico di Nicola Spinosa; curated by Gemma Cautela, Leonardo Di Mauro, Renato Ruotolo, Naples 1993–1997.

External links

Church of Santa Maria Regina Coeli - Campania Cultural Activity Office.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Regina Coeli, Naples Renaissance architecture in Naples Roman Catholic churches in Naples 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1594