Naples Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Napoli; Neapolitan: Viscuvato 'e Napule), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta), is a Roman Catholiccathedral, 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 (Cattedrale di San Gennaro), in honour of the city's patron saint.
History
The present cathedral in Angevingothic style (Italian: gotico angioino) was commissioned by King Charles I of Anjou. Construction continued during the reign of his successor, Charles II (1285–1309) and was completed in the early 14th century under Robert of Anjou. It was built on the foundations of two palaeo-Christianbasilicas, whose traces can still be clearly seen. Underneath the building excavations have revealed Greek and Roman artifacts.
The cathedral gives access to the archaeological remains in the crypt of the neighbouring original palaeochristian church of Santa Restituta where there is a Greek wall belonging to the temple of Apollo, in opus reticulatum. Under the apse the peristyle of a late imperial domus can be seen; also a stretch of Roman aqueduct after the foundation of the city and a stretch of Greek road on an inclined plane.
Other artworks include an Assumption by Pietro Perugino, canvasses by Luca Giordano and the palaeo-Christian baptistery, with mosaics from the 4th century. The main chapel is a restoration of the 18th century, with a Baroque relief by Pietro Bracci. The Minutolo Chapel, mentioned in Boccaccio's Decameron, has 14th-century frescoes.
The crypt is by the Lombard Tommaso Malvito. The façade was reworked by Enrico Alvino in the late 19th century, but retains the 15th century portal, including some sculptures by Tino da Camaino.
The church houses a vial of the blood of Saint Januarius, which is brought out three times a year, on the first Saturday in May, on 19 September and 16 December, when the dried blood usually liquefies. If the blood fails to liquefy, then legend has it that disaster will befall Naples.
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli, Ramaccini, and Della Sala is that the vial contains a thixotropicgel,[1][2] he also explained on the Blood Miracle of Riddles of the Dead series on National Geographic Channel.[3] In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the 'blood' in the ampoule.[4] The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily available locally since antiquity.[5][6]
On March 21, 2015, the blood in the vial appeared to liquify during a visit by Pope Francis. This was taken as a sign of the saint's favour of the pope. The blood did not liquify when Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2007.
^Garlaschelli, L.; Ramaccini, F.; Della Sala, S. (1994). "The Blood of St. Januarius". Chemistry in Britain. 30 (2): 123. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
^Garlaschelli, Luigi (June 2002). "Sangue prodigioso"(PDF). RICHMAC Magazine (in Italian). 84: 67–70. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 January 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2021.