Santi Apostoli is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style church 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. Legend holds that a church at the site was built atop a Temple of Mercury by Emperor Constantine. Restored by the Caracciolo Family, it was ceded in 1570 to the Theatine Order. By 1590, the adjacent cloister and monastery was designed by Francesco Grimaldi. In the early 17th century was reconstructed by Giacomo Conforti. In 1638, the work was continued by

Bartolomeo Picchiatti Bartolomeo Picchiatti (Ferrara, 1571 – Naples, 3 April 1643) was an Italian engineer and architect. A short street in the Soccavo area of the city is named after him. Life He moved to Naples in 1593, having been summoned by the architect Dome ...

. In the 19th century, the Theatine order was suppressed and the church turned over in administrations. An earthquake damaged the dome. The church now belongs to the Liceo Artistico Statale di Napoli. The counter-facade and ceiling panels were frescoed by

Giovanni Lanfranco Giovanni Lanfranco (26 January 1582 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian Baroque painter. Biography Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Coun ...

in the 1640s. The panels contain the following depictions: a ''Martyrdom of Apostles Simone e Giuda''; a ''Martyrdom of St Thomas Apostle''; a ''Martyrdom of St Bartholomew''; a ''Martyrdom of St Matthew''; a ''Martyrdom of St John Evangelist''; a ''Glory of the Apostles'', ''Virtue'', ''Prophets'', ''Patriarchs'', and finally the four ''Evangelists'' on the

pendentives In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

of the dome. The cupola has a large fresco depicting ''Paradise'' (1684) by Giovanni Battista Benasca, who also painted the frescoes in the chapel of St Michael.Notizie del bello dell'antico e del curioso della città di Napoli
by

Carlo Celano Carlo Celano (22 February 1625 ''–'' 3 December 1693) was an Italian lawyer and man of letters, who led the restoration of the church of Santa Restituta in his birthplace of Naples and left an accurate census of the city's monuments, updated up ...

, Giovanni Battista Chiarini, Volume 2, page 617. This chapel has a painting by Marco da Siena The lunnettes in this chapel were painted by

Giordano Giordano may refer to: People *Giordano (name) *Giordano (footballer) (born 1993), Brazilian footballer *Umberto Giordano, or simply Giordano, Italian composer Businesses *Giordano International, a Hong Kong–based, global clothing retailer *Gio ...

and Solimena. Over the main door is a painting of the Healing Pool by Viviani. The main altar was designed by Fuga. In the choir are five canvases by Solimena. The altar in the Filomarino Family Chapel at the right of the main altar, was designed (1647) by Borromini. The chapel has mosaics made by

Giovanni Battista Calandra Giovanni Battista Calandra (1586 - c. 1644) was an Italian mosaic artist in the Vatican. He was born at Vercelli in 1586. In the pontificate of Urban VIII, it was found that the dampness of St. Peter's materially affected canvases, and hencefo ...

and copied from paintings by Reni. The relief on the altar of the four evangelist symbols is by

François Duquesnoy François Duquesnoy or Frans Duquesnoy (12 January 1597 – 18 July 1643) was a Flanders, Flemish Baroque sculptor who was active in Rome for most of his career, where he was known as Il Fiammingo ("the Fleming"). His idealized representations re ...

, and two marble lions are by

Giuliano Finelli Giuliano Finelli (1601–1653) was an Italian Baroque sculptor who emerged from the workshop of Bernini. He was born in Carrara to a family of marble masons in a town associated with mining of the stone, and he initially trained with Michelange ...

. The sacristy was built in 1626 using designs of

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 studen ...

. The crypt was frescoed by

Belisario Corenzio Belisario Corenzio ( 1558–1646) was a Greek-Italian painter, active in Venice and Naples. He is one of few Greek painters that did not belong to the Cretan Renaissance like his contemporaries of the time. He escaped the maniera greca complete ...

References

Sources

* * Portions derived from Italian Wikipedia entry.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostoli Naples 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples Theatine churches