Dracula would, therefore, have died in Naples and his body would now be resting in one of the most evocative environments of the Monumental Complex of Santa Maria la Nova, the Franciscan citadel built in Naples at the end of the 13th century by the minor friars on a plot of land given to them by the king Charles I of Anjou and called “the Nova”, in order to distinguish it from Santa Maria from the Palatium, the monastery that once stood in the same place where, the Maschio Angioino was later raised.

The tomb of Vlad the Impaler, the dreaded prince of Wallachia, who inspired Bram Stoker’s imagination, is to be found just a few steps from Piazza Bovio and Piazza del Gesú, right on the edge of the historical center, which has been declared heritage of the humanity by UNESCO.

The Complex is an extraordinary monument which hosts masterpieces signed by the most famous Neapolitan painters of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In Santa Maria La Nova, thanks to the guidance of the experts of the “Oltre il Chiostro Onlus” Association, presided by Giuseppe Reale, it is possible to revisit the history of the former capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Faithful to the style imported to the South of Italy by the Angevin monarchs, the church and the adjoining convent of Santa Maria La Nova, originally had Gothic forms. Damaged by repeated earthquakes, the religious complex, which at the beginning of the sixteenth century, had acquired a new structure, that of the great chapel of San Giacomo della Marca (whose construction led to the demolition and modifications of various chapels) – went under a profound and revolutionary restyling work in 1596, that gave it its characteristic Baroque imprint. This restyling, respected the rigid canons of the Counter-Reformation, which still characterizes it today.

The church, with its austere Renaissance style facade, has a Latin cross plan and is equipped with a single tile-tiled nave and has a series of sparkling chapels which open wide along both its sides. It is accessed through a steep staircase in trachytic rock protected by a marble balustrade. The coffered ceiling, in gilded wood, is among the innumerable so-called “pearls” kept in the edifice. The ceiling is enriched by forty-six painted tables, which constitute a true anthology of pictorial art inspired by the last Neapolitan mannerism, before Caravaggio’s irruption on the European artistic scenes.

The adjacent convent – in which the upper rooms, once were the monks’ cells – is composed of a sacristy, a refectory and two extraordinary cloisters. Since 2008, the Oltre il Chiostro association has, here, set up the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (Arca).

The cloister called “maggiore”, also known as the cloister of San Francesco, was ceded some time ago to the Province of Naples. It has lost most of its frescoes which once adorned its walls (depicting scenes from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi).

The “minor” cloister, also called the cloister of San Giacomo, houses a series of paintings with scenes from the life of San Giacomo della Marca, attributed to Andrea De Lione and a series of tombstones and sepulchral monuments. This is where the legend of Dracula’s tomb leads us. Here, where history enjoyed itself by interweaving its occult plots. According to a study, Dracula, in fact,  rests right under the porticoes of the small cloister, in the sepulcher built in 1499 by the sculptor Jacopo della Pila, to house the mortal remains of Matteo Ferrillo. Some Italian scholars are convinced of the truth of this theory, also supported, in their thesis, by some colleagues from the Estonian University of Tallinn. Let’s jump back into time, in order to have a clearer picture.

In 1476 Vlad III of Wallachia, who had recently regained the throne of his country, disappeared in battle while fighting against the Turks. Vlad, belonged to the order of the Dragon (“Dracula” from the Romanian “Dracul”, which literally means “son of the dragon”) just like the then king of Naples Ferrante D’Aragona. He was declared dead and one of his daughters, Maria Balsa, who at the time was only 7 years old, was adopted by a Neapolitan woman and then taken to Naples, perhaps because of the common “militancy” of the two kings, to escape the danger of an Ottoman invasion of Transylvania. Once become a woman, the girl married Matteo, a noble from the Neapolitan family of Ferrillo. According to a first version, she brought the mortal remains of her illustrious parent to the city of Naples and then buried them in the sepulcher of her husband. According to another version, Dracula did not die during the battle but was imprisoned by the Turks. Maria would have paid the ransom and then have him reach Italy. At his death, the former king of Wallachia would have been buried in the family tomb. So far the story. But there appears to be other elements that would confirm this thesis: the bas-reliefs carved on the sepulchral tomb of Dracula’s “son-in-law”.

A dragon with two symbols of Egyptian matrixes are carved on the tomb, which were never seen before, on a European tomb and which seem to recall some elements typical of medieval Slavic culture. These two opposing sphinxes recall the name of the city of Thebes, that the ancient Egyptians called “Tepes“. Those symbols seem to read “Dracula Tepes” which, incidentally, are also the two nicknames normally given to the prince.

Furthermore, just behind the tomb of the Ferrillo family, stands an enigmatic incision. A sort of “La Nova Code“, as it was renamed by the members of Oltre il Chiostro association, written in an unknown language. The only certain element so far deciphered, in this mysterious fresco (in which  typical characters of the Latin, Coptic, Greek and Ethiopian alphabets have been identified), would seem to be the word “Vlad” that occurs several times. Vlad, like the name of the Count.

So far, the surprising coincidences of this story, appear to be no more that a novel. But, many historians do not believe this version of the story, because it is said that there is no concrete evidence of the permanence or burial of Vlad III in Italy or even of the existence of one of his daughters. And the reference itself to the city of Thebes is considered misleading since the epithet “Tepes”, normally flanked the name of Dracula, in Romanian means “pole”, therefore, “impaler”, which derives from the chilling torture that the “Vampire of Transylvania” was used to inflicting on his enemies. Doubts, perplexities and  mysteries abound, together with  signs and clues at will. In short, in the history of this monumental complex has everything to attract the attention of historians, art lovers and tourists. A monument that needs, care and maintenance, to the point that the Neapolitan association that manages it, has promoted the initiative “Restaura la Nova“, a collection of funds to be allocated to restoration  (see video).

SANTA MARIA LA NOVA MONUMENTAL COMPLEX
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS ART (ARCA)
Via Santa Maria la Nova, 44 – 80134 Naples
(near the University and Toledo stops, Line 1 of the Metropolitana
OPENING HOURS: Monday-Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. – Saturday and Sunday from 9.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
CONTACTS: Tel. + 39 081 552 15 97 – Email: info@santamarialanova.info
web: www.santamarialanova.info

L'articolo Visit Santa Maria La Nova to discover the mystery of the tomb of Dracula proviene da Charme.

Eight centuries of art and history all enclosed in a stone casket. Visiting the monumental complex of San Domenico Maggiore, is an extremely suggestive experience. A jump back in time to rediscover one of the many faces of Naples. Here, halfway between the Lower Decumano and the Major Decumano, in the heart of the historical center of Naples, which has been declared World Heritage, many personalities have passed such as Giordano Bruno, Tommaso d’Aquino, Giovanni Pontano.

Philosophers, humanists, fathers of the Church. Each, has left his sign in one of the most important churches in Southern Italy. A multitude of  known and lesser known artists such as Tiziano, Caravaggio, Raffaello, Giuseppe de Ribera, Tino di Camaino, Francesco Solimena, Luca Giordano, Luigi Vanvitelli, Domenico Vaccaro, Cosimo Fanzago and Mattia Preti have all left traces of their art in this Church.

Built between 1283 and 1324 in Gothic style, at the behest of King Charles II of Anjou, who financed the project (then entrusting it to the care of the Dominican friars), from the Renaissance, the complex of San Domenico Maggiore, with its church and the adjacent Convent, has represented the fulcrum of Naples, one of the “privileged places” of the nascent Kingdom. This location in which the history of the young state was shaped, was also thanks to the choice of the kings of Aragon in  choosing to build the religious complex, the dynastic pantheon. In fact there are to be found some guarded arches on the balconies of the Sacristy which was frescoed by Francesco Solimena: 38 wooden boxes sumptuously covered with silks, brocades or other precious fabrics, arranged on two overlapping rows, containing a series of 45 coffins of royals and nobles linked to the historic Spanish family, are also to be found.

The majestic basilica, was transformed by Vaccaro, together with the adjacent convent, into one of the emblems of the Neapolitan Baroque. This edifice  has a particularity: the opening to Piazza San Domenico Maggiore is by the apse and not by the main facade of the building. This is because the open square with its famous obelisk was realized later. From the square, one can access the church through a large staircase wanted by Alfonso I of Aragon which connects the pre-existing Romanesque church of San Michele Arcangelo a Morfisa (incorporated into the complex too)to the building in which the Dominicans had found hospitality when they arrived in Naples in 1231. This ramp leads to the right transept of the basilica while another entrance placed on the street level, with the center of the rear façade, under the fifteenth-century balcony, where the Carafa coats of arms stand, is connected directly with the Guevara di Bovino chapel (or “Succorpo”) , right at the apse.

The main entrance of  San Domenico Maggiore opens up instead to the north, in vico San Domenico Maggiore, on the right side of the square, directly in the courtyard of the convent. It is advisable to enter from here to experience the majestic entry into the basilica. The inside of the church – in which stands a large organ with 1,640 pipes made by Neapolitan master violin makers – is in fact nothing short of glitzy: an authentic riot of well-assembled colors, with marble, blue and gold that stand out wonderfully, in perfect Baroque style. The coffered ceiling has in its center the emblem of the Dominicans and, at the four corners, stand the arms of the house of Aragon and the Spanish crown.

Under the three naves in which the church is subdivided, are to be found the noble chapels: twenty-seven in all. Among these, in particular, the second one, also called “The Chapel of frescos” or “Brancaccio“, is the only one in the whole building to preserve a cycle of frescoes dating back to the Angevin era and to the period of construction of the religious temple. Starting from 1308, they were realized by the Roman painter Pietro Cavallini. Also worthy of note is the sixth chapel, a sort of pantheon of the Carafa family, known as the “Cappellone del Crocefisso”. This space once belonged to the chapel of San Nicola and was an integral part of the old fourteenth-century church of San Michele Arcangelo a Morfisa. It hosts precious paintings and various sepulchral monuments and a reproduction of the original thirteenth-century painting of the Crucifix (today preserved in the convent) that, according to tradition, in 1273, seems to have spoken to St. Thomas Aquinas while he was praying , telling him the following words: “Thomas you wrote well of me. What reward do you want? “. “Nothing but you, Lord” was the response of the theologian who wrote in vernacular and was a point of connection between Christianity and classical philosophy, who finally wrote the third part of the Summa Theologìae.

In addition to the Sacristy, of the newborn Museo Doma, it is worth paying a visit to the seventeenth-century Sala degli Arredi Sacri, once known as the “Sala del Tesoro”, with its collection of vestments and sacred objects of great historical, artistic and cultural value. It also holds the precious clothes of the sovereigns and noble Neapolitans found in the tombs in the nearby Sacristy. It is also worth mentioning the “Muscettola chapel” where it is possible to admire an enigmatic “Salvator Mundi“ of Leonardian school, dating back to the first decade of the 16th century, very similar to the one recently auctioned for 450 million dollars (click here to booking online).

The convent, which is an integral part of the complex of the Dominican fathers, is accessed from the entrance of Vico San Domenico. Developed on three floors, the building tells, through its paintings, its furnishings and its works, events that have written not only the history of Naples, but also that of the whole of Italy. Stories that lead to the birth of the Neapolitan University, which has had its headquarters here for centuries, but also to more recent events (during the 1990s the monastery housed the rooms of the former Court of Assizes and here was “hosted” the boss Raffaele Cutolo during his trial).

In the convent, as previously mentioned, lived for many years the friar Tommaso d’Aquino, theologian and doctor of the Church, his cell of which can now be visited, with access to the Doma Museum, where sacred objects belonging to the Holy philosopher exponent of the Scholastic and defined Doctor Angelicus are on display.

Subject to several restorations, the convent of San Domenico Maggiore reopened its doors to the public in 2012 and today is divided into several areas, one part is still used by the friars, another hosts a high school and another, with the Hall of the Chapter, is of the City of Naples.

SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE MONUMENTAL COMPLEX. DOMA MUSEUM
Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 8 / A
Doma Museum, complete route:
Aragonese Arches, 16th century clothing collection, Sacristy, Hall of sacred furnishings, Salvator Mundi, Corridor of St. Thomas, Cell of St. Thomas.
Full price: € 7.00 – Reduced price: € 5.00 – Groups and Schools: € 5.00
Click here to booking online: shop.visitaresandomenicomaggiore.it
Open every day (closed decembre 25th): 10.00am – 6.00pm with guided tours
Tel. + 39 081 459188 – +39 333 863 89 97
www.museosandomenicomaggiore.it
Email: domanapoli@gmail.com

PIAZZA SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE
The Ground zero of the historical center

The back of the apse of the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore overlooks the scenic Piazza San Domenico Maggiore. It is one of the most characteristic and romantic of  old Naples, with its obelisk surmounted by the bronze statue of the saint. The obelisk is surrounded, as in a magnificent setting, by the large palaces of the Del Balzo families (later inhabited by the famous animator of the Baroni Conjure, Antonello Petrucci), the Casacalenda, the Corigliano, the Sansevero (home of the di Sangro family, to which belonged the famous Raimondo di Sangro, to whom we owe the embellishment of the famous Cappella Sansevero, notable for his works of art)

Piazza San Domenico Maggiore is the gateway to the lower Decumano. It defines the exact center of the historic perimeter of Naples and revolves around the obelisk of San Domenico, ex voto of the Neapolitans for a plague epidemic averted in 1656. The spire, where two double-tailed sirens emerge at the top, inspired  the name of the Basilica which Charles II of Anjou erected between 1283 and 1324. It was decided to erect it on the occasion of the famous plague of 1656. The works began two years later according to the  sketches by Francesco Picchiatti (1619-94) or, according to others, such as Cosimo Fanzago (1593-1678). The works during its erection was interrupted, to be resumed in the times of Charles of Bourbon under the direction of Domenico Antonio Vaccaro (1681-1750), who brought them to an end in 1737. Rich in marbles, bas-reliefs, medallions and statues, the so-called spire of San Domenico ends with a pyramid surmounted by a valuable bronze statue of the saint, executed according to the design and assistance of the same Vaccaro.

The square is the crossroads of the ancient Neapolitan Center, where Spaccanapoli meets Mezzocannone, the university street. From here one can reach San Gregorio Armeno, the street of cribs. It was from here that used to pass Prince Raimondo di Sangro used to pass, to get to his laboratory, which was adjacent to the family chapel, inside of which, is the famous Veiled Christ. And it was here, in 1590, that the walls of Palazzo Sansevero witnessed a frightening and bloody story: the murder of Maria D’Avalos and her lover Fabrizio Carafa, caught in flagrant adultery by the husband of the beautiful princess, the madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo. From that day, the legend tells of the ghost of the woman who wanders, ethereal and suffering, between the obelisk and the portal of the palace in search of her tragically lost love.

L'articolo Visit to San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, 800 years of history, art and legends proviene da Charme.

In front of Gesù Nuovo, right in the heart of Decumani, centre of the Greek and Roman Neapolis, stands the church of Santa Chiara, built near the old western walls (today piazza del Gesù Nuovo), between 1310 and 1340, thanks to Robert of Anjou and the queen Sancha of Aragon.

The complex was erected on the remains of Roman therms dated to the I century A.C., whose findings can be seen under the foundations of the monastery and into the halls of Museum of Opera di Santa Chiara, showing also findings of Angevin period (XIV century).

This church, sober and impressive, hosts the tomb of King Robert of Anjou, behind the high altar, and the Bourbon funerary chapel. Near the entrance there is the grave of Salvo d’Acquisto, the officer who during World War II saved a group a civilians from the Nazis at cost of his own life. The monastery is famous worldwide for the splendid majolica cloister, made in 1742 by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, who covered the entire structure and the 72 pillars with wonderful polychrome tiles, created by the Neapolitans “riggiolari” Donato e Giuseppe Massa.

Walking along the Decumani, there is another temple of Christian faith “made in Partenope”: the church of San Domenico Maggiore.

Built between 1283 and 1324 under King Charles II of Anjou on the remains of a X century church, it was restyled with Baroque taste, after being damaged by numerous earthquakes during the XV century. It is famous for the rectangular Sacristy, with marble floors and suggestive wooden details. It hosts 45 tombs of Neapolitan nobles, especially from the Aragona family. There are paintings by Tommaso De Vivo, Pietro Cavallini, Solimena and the marvellous high altar made by Cosimo Fanzago. In this church the poet Boccaccio studied law, but it was in a nearby church that the author of Decameron met the love of his life, Fiammetta, precisely in San Lorenzo Maggiore, set in via San Gregorio Armeno and “twin” of San Domenico because it was commissioned during the same period by King Charles of Anjou.

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Between 1600 and 1700 San Lorenzo was restyled according to Baroque taste, but the restorations of the XX century brought to light its original Gothic forms.

It has a striking 1700 façade, made by Ferdinando Sanfelice, with a XIV century marble portal, and it is enriched by numerous work of art, like the Tomb of Catherine of Austria, sculpted by Tino from Camaino (1323) and the Sant’Antonio Chapel, made by Cosimo Fanzago (1638).

In the Mercato area, where once stood the city walls, there is Santa Maria del Carmine. This church, with the highest bell tower of Naples (75 metres), was built at the beginning of 1300 on the foundations of a church where was venerated the icon of “Madonna Bruna”, a XIII century painting. There is the tomb of Conrad of Swabia, the last emperor of Sacred Roman Empire beheaded as a child in 1268 in piazza Mercato by King Charles of Anjou. In the cloister of this church was killed on 16 July 1647 the heroic fishmonger Masaniello. Every year on the 16^th of July, for the Madonna del Carmine festival, the bell tower is “burnt” by the means of fireworks to recall a Saracen siege foiled by the Christians. At the entrance, there is a wooden miraculous Christ, who in 1439 lowered his head to avoid a shot exploded during a siege made by Alfonso of Aragon.

Another wonderful church is San Giovanni a Carbonara, set triumphantly on the top of a stair made by Ferdinando Sanfelice (1707). It was build in 1343 by King Ladislao of Durazzo, whose 18 metres tomb stands behind the high altar, supported by the four Virtues. Finished at the beginning of XV century, this church was heavily damaged during World War II and restorations took place along the XX century. It has a precious XV century majolica floor and hosts frescoes made in 1400 by Perrinetto from Benevento and Leonardo from Besozzo. The chapel Caracciolo di Vico has richly decorated marble floor and a wide lacunar dome.

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Last but not least, the church of San Filippo Neri, the inventor of the devotion of seven churches, called also “dei Girolamini”, set on via Tribunali. It is part of a complex hosting an important picture-gallery dating to the end of 1500. The project bears the signature of Giovanni Antonio Dosio, a Florentine just like the architect Ferdinando Fuga, who started the works in 1592.

Inside the church there are paintings by Pietro from Cortona and Guido Reni, sculptures by Bernini and a fresco made by Luca Giordano. It is also called “Domus Aurea” for its sparkling Baroque golden decoration. It hosts the tomb of philosopher Giambattista Vico, who worked into the famous library of the Oratorio, which counts more than 60.000 books.

L'articolo Naples and its churches in the holy walk of Easter proviene da Charme.