San Francesco di Paola, Naples

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Basilica of San Francesco di Paola Basilica di San Francesco di Paola (in Italian)
The church of San Francesco di Paola.
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Archdiocese of Naples
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Minor basilica
Location
Location	Naples, Campania, Italy
Geographic coordinates	40°50′07″N 14°14′51″E / 40.835296°N 14.247471°E / 40.835296; 14.247471Coordinates: 40°50′07″N 14°14′51″E / 40.835296°N 14.247471°E / 40.835296; 14.247471
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Neoclassical

San Francesco di Paola is a prominent church located to the west in Piazza del Plebiscito, the main square of Naples, Italy.

In the early 19th century, King Joachim Murat of Naples (Napoleon's brother-in-law) planned the entire square and the large building with the colonnades as a tribute to the emperor. When Napoleon was finally dispatched, the Bourbons were restored to the throne of Naples. Ferdinand I continued the construction - finished in 1816 - but converted the final product into the church one sees today. He dedicated it to Saint Francis of Paola, who had stayed in a monastery on this site in the 16th century.

The church is reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome. The façade is fronted by a portico resting on six columns and two Ionic pillars. Inside, the church is circular with two side chapels. The dome is 53 metres high. The portico is by Neapolitan architect , while the main building is by the Swiss architect  [it].^[1]

Interior[]

The interior has a number of statues: a San Giovanni Crisostomo by Gennaro Calì, Sant'Ambrogio by Tito Angelini, St Luke by , a St Matthew by , a St John Evangelist by Pietro Tenerani, St Mark by Giuseppe de Fabris, a Sant'Agostino by , and a Sant'Attanasio by .

In the chapels on the right, we find the following altarpieces: San Nicola da Tolentino and St Francis of Paola receives a stem of charity from an Angel, by , Final Communion of San Ferdinando di Castiglia by Pietro Benvenuti, a Transit di St Joseph by , the Immaculate Conception and the death of Sant'Andrea Avellino by Tommaso de Vivo.

Before the main altar, is a 1641 work by , transferred here in 1835, from the church of the Santi Apostoli. In the apse is a painting of St Francis of Paola resuscitates a dead man by Vincenzo Camuccini. In the sacristy is an Immaculate Conception by Gaspare Landi and a Circumcision of Jesus by Antonio Campi

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to San Francesco di Paola (Naples) at Wikimedia Commons