The Church of the Girolamini (also spelled ''Gerolomini''), also known as the Church of Saint Philip Neri, is a church and ecclesiastical complex in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy. It stands directly across from the

Cathedral of Naples The Naples Cathedral (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...

on Via Duomo. Its façade faces the square and the street of the same name ( Via Tribunali), opposite Santa Maria della Colonna. The complex is located one block west of Via Duomo.

History

The church was built site of an earlier building, the Palazzo Seripando, which was bought in 1586 with 5500 ducats for the priests of the Congregation of the

Oratory of St Philip Neri The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri (), abbreviated C.O. and commonly known as the Oratorians, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men (priests and religious brothers) who live together in a commun ...

. Archbishop Mario Carafa, had requested disciples from the order, and received the future cardinal Francesco Tarugi. Once the Palace was demolished, construction started in 1592 using by the Florentine architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio, with help by Nencioni. Completed in 1619, the church was in a sober Florentine Renaissance style, with a Latin cross with three naves supported by arcuated colonnades and with lateral chapels. It was initially consecrated to the Birth of the Virgin of and All Saints (Ognisanti). There are two cloisters: the first cloister is called the "chiostro maiolicato" from its embedded

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...

tiles. A much larger second 17th-century cloister, is accessible through the first; this cloister hosts the entry to both the "Quadreria" or art collection, which had been previously housed in the sacristy of the Church, and the magnificent library of the Oratorian Fathers, the ''Biblioteca Girolamini'', now run by the Italian state. The façade and other reconstructions were completed by Ferdinando Fuga in 1780. The façade statues of St Peter or St Paul were sculpted by Giuseppe Sammartino. The Church and the convent gallery contain works by major artists. The lavish gilt ceiling was badly damaged during aerial bombardment in February 1944, but has been partially restored. The church counterfacade has a Giordano painting of ''Jesus ejects the moneylenders from the Temple''. The lateral doors have frescoes of ''Heliodorus and the Angel'' and ''Oza morto presso l’Arca'' by Filippo Mazzante. The first chapel on the right has an altarpiece depicting ''Saints Giorgio and Pantaleone'' by the Bolognese Gaetano Pandolfi; to the side are paintings of ''St Dominic'' and the ''Guardian Angel'' are by Francesco Fracanzano, pupil of Ribera; above is a painting of ''Saints Cosma and Damiano'' by Benasca. The 2nd chapel on the right has a small ''Madonna della Neve'' by a follower of Polidoro di Caravaggio, the paintings of ''God and Sts Anne and Joseph'' are by Giuseppe Marulli. Francesco di Maria painted ''St Anne and S. Gioacchino with the Angel''. The paintings in the 3rd chapel are by

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Early l ...

. The 4th chapel on the right has a ''St Agnese'', by Cristoforo Roncalli (il Pomarancio). Giovanni Battista Vico and his wife, Caterina Destito have funereal plaques in this chapel. The 5th chapel has a '' St. Francis in Ecstasy'' by

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

. The frescoes in this chapel are by Morandi. The canvas of the ''Virgin and Apostles'' in the sixth chapel was painted by

Paolo de Matteis Paolo de Matteis (also known as ''Paolo de' Matteis''; 9 February 1662 – 26 January 1728) was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter. Biography He was born in Piano Vetrale, a hamlet of Orria, in the current Province of Salerno, and died ...

, while Francesco la Mura painted the lateral canvases. The church and complex take their name of ''Girolamini'' from that which was first applied to the priests of the Oratory and which is derived from the Church of San Girolamo della Carità in Rome, where St Philip Neri first established his religious exercises.

Sacristy

Entered from the right transept, the sacristy displays a series of painting including a ''St. Francis in Ecstasy'' (1622) and ''Jesus meets St John the Baptist'' (1622) by

, and a ''St. Nicholas of Bari saves three children from a vat'', ''San Carlo Borromeo kisses the hand of St Phillip Neri'', ''St Charles Borromeo and St. Philip Neri'' by Giordano. The next room has a ceiling fresco depicting the ''Glory of St Philip Neri'' by Beinaschi.

Biblioteca Girolamini

The Biblioteca Girolamini is the library associated with the church since the 16th century. It previously contained thousands of manuscripts and printed volumes.

Looting in 2012

In December 2013, it was reportedNaples' Girolamini: The looting of a 16th Century library
Alan Johnston,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 19 December 2013, accessed 20 December 2013 that there had been systematic looting of the Biblioteca Girolamini. Images showed empty shelves and tables piled with papers. Senior Police investigator, Major Antonio Coppola, was quoted as saying, "Our investigations found that there was a true criminal system in action," and that "A group of people... carried out a devastating, systematic looting of the library." The report stated that Professor Tomaso Montanari, an art historian and academic, first alerted the police to what was happening, after having gained access to the library along with a student in early 2012. The Professor said, "One of the library's members of staff took me aside, away from the CCTV cameras, and said: 'Professor, the director (Marino Massimo de Caro) has been looting the library!'" de Caro had been appointed in 2011. De Caro was arrested soon after investigations began in 2012. Investigations showed that vehicle-loads of books had been removed and sold by the now-convicted criminals, who had waited until after normal working hours, turned off the rudimentary CCTV system, and then proceeded with their looting. De Caro was convicted along with accomplices in early 2013 and sentenced to seven years jail, although, due to his cooperation this was commuted to house arrest. Around 80% of the lost volumes had been recovered by late 2013, with the assistance of antiquarian booksellers and collectors, although many valuable artefacts remain unaccounted for. In 2019 Giancarlo Petrella published about incunabula at the library based on early catalogs.''Gli incunaboli della Biblioteca Oratoriana dei Girolamini: un primo catalogo'', a cura di Giancarlo Petrella, premessa di Andrea Mazzucchi, presentazione di Vito De Nicola, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2019,

Gallery

Battesimo di CristoCaraccGirolamNaples.jpg, Baptism of Christ 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 ...

SpagnolettoStAndreaGirolamNaples.jpg, St Andrew by Jose Ribera The Flagellation of ChrisSpagnGirolamNaples.jpg, Flagellation of Christ by Jose Ribera Ribera - San Giacomo Maggiore.jpg, St James by Jose Ribera SpagnolettoStPaoloGirolaminiNaples.jpg, St Paul by Jose Ribera SpagnolettoStPietroGirolaminiNaples.jpg, St Peter by Jose Ribera SanFilippoNeri-Sanmartino.jpg, St Phillip Neri by Sammartino

References

Sources

*A new guide of Naples, its environs, Procida, Ischia and Capri: Compiled ...By Mariano Vasi, page 286, by Giovanni Battista de Ferrari. 1826 Naples.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girolamini Naples 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Religious organizations established in 1586 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1619 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1588 Roman Catholic churches completed in the 1580s 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples Churches in Naples Girolamini Libraries in Naples 1619 establishments in Italy National museums of Italy