Santa Maria Regina Coeli ('Saint Mary the Queen of Heaven') 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 ...

church 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.

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 The Canons Regular of the Lateran (CRL, Canonici Regulares Lateranenses), formally titled the Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, is an international congregation of canons regular, comprisin ...

) 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, then later by

Giovanni Francesco di Palma 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 ...

; 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 architect ...

in 1682. In 1812, the nuns were transferred to the Monastery of

Gesù e Maria Gesù or Gesu may refer to: * Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Society of Jesus **Church of the Gesù (disambiguation), other churches with the name * Jesus in the Italian language * Gesù Nuovo, a church and a square in Naples, Ital ...

and in their place moved in the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret. This order still owns the complex in 2014. The entrance is preceded by two staircases leading to a

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

with arcades, which was frescoed (1594) by the Flemish painter Loise Croys, pupil of

Paul Bril Paul Bril (1554 – 7 October 1626) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and printmaker principally known for his Landscape art, landscapes.Nicola Courtright. "Paul Bril." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. ...

. 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 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 ...

Micco Spadaro Domenico Gargiulo called Micco Spadaro () was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Naples and known for his landscape painting, landscapes, genre art, genre scenes, and history paintings. Life Early life and education D ...

Giovan Battista Beinaschi image:Benaschi-llanto por abel.JPG, ''The Deploration of Abel'', Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (Madrid). Giovanni Battista Benaschi, or Beinaschi, (1636–September 28, 1688) was an list of Italian painters, Italian painter and eng ...

, and

Pietro del Pò Pietro del Pò (1616 – 22 July 1692), also spelled ''del Po'', was an Italian painter, engraver, and drawing, draughtsman of the Baroque. He was more distinguished as an engraver than as a painter. Early life Pietro was born in Palermo in ...

. 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 (17 February 1728, Naples - 1806, Naples) was an Italian painter in the Rococo style. Life and works His personal style derives from that of his teacher, Francesco De Mura. As early as 1750, he was commissioned to paint the ...

. 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