The church of Santa Maria Maggiore della Pietrasanta is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religious edifice located on Via Tribunali in central

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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

Tradition holds the church was erected in 533 atop the ruins of a Temple of Diana; construction was instigated by the Bishop Pomponio of Naples, a relative of Pope John II. A church at the site, dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore, was consecrated in 535. It was soon titled a minor

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

church. By 1654, the old church was threatening collapse, and reconstruction was pursued under the designs of

Cosimo Fanzago Cosimo Fanzago (Clusone, 12 October 1591 – Napoli, 13 February 1678) was an Italian architect and sculptor, generally considered the greatest such artist of the Baroque period in Naples, Italy. Biography Early life and education Fanzago was ...

, which led to the domed church with a Greek cross layout we see today. Work was soon interrupted due to lack of funds. There is evidence of a

paleochristian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

basilica in the crypt, and the finding of an old stone carved with a cross gave the church part of its name. The bell tower was constructed in the 11th century. To the left of the entrance and obscuring the left lower facade, is in part, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

chapel: Capella Pontano, erected in 1492 by Giovanni Pontano, the Secretary to

Ferdinand I of Aragon Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicil ...

. To the right of the church and some meters distant is the medieval bell tower. An inventory of the church in 1845 said the first chapel on the right had a dilapidated canvas depicting the ''Virgin and Sts Peter and Paul'' by Marco di Pino and a main altarpiece depicting a ''Virgin of the Annunciation'' by Giuseppe Bonito. The next chapel also had a canvas depicting a ''Guardian Angel'' by Bonito as well as a canvas by Vaccaro depicting a ''Madonna della Grazie, Bishop Pomponio, and St Anthony''. Near the main altar, a chapel had a ''Archangel Raphael and Tobias'' by Bonito. The main chapel had altarpieces by Bonito (''Choir of Angels'') and by followers of Luca Giordano (''St Michael Archangel''). The last chapel on left had a ''Holy Family'' by Farelli. Adjacent to the church, the chapel of the Holy Sacrament had an altarpiece by Aniella di Rosa.Catalani, pages 125-126.

Gallery

Image:Napoli - Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore alla Pietrasanta.JPG, View from left flank, showing dome, Capella Pontano left of the facade, and the brick bell tower to right of façade Image:Napoli - Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore2.jpg, The bell tower Image:Cupola Maria.JPG, Interior of the dome Image:Pietrasanta altare.jpg, Main altar Image:Statue Maria.JPG, Sculptures

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Maggiore della Pietrasanta Naples Roman Catholic churches in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Church buildings with domes