Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, Naples, Italy
Church of the Gesù Nuovo
A former Renaissance palace in the heart of Naples converted into a Jesuit church, famous for its diamond-point rusticated facade, its lavish Baroque interior, and the shrine of St. Giuseppe Moscati.
The Gesù Nuovo occupies an unusual building. It started life in 1470 as a nobleman's palace, and the Jesuits acquired it in 1584, gutting the interior and rebuilding it as a church while keeping the original facade. That facade is the most distinctive feature — an entire wall of dark piperno stone carved into diamond-shaped pyramidal points, rough and almost fortress-like, giving no hint of what waits inside. Step through the door and the contrast is total. The interior is a single wide nave packed with Baroque decoration: frescoes by Francesco Solimena covering the ceiling, marble inlay on the walls, gilded stucco, and side chapels competing with one another in ornamentation. The church holds the remains of St. Giuseppe Moscati, a Neapolitan doctor who treated the poor without charge in the early twentieth century. His shrine, including a reconstruction of his medical office, draws a constant flow of Neapolitans who still pray to him for healing. The piazza out front is one of the great gathering spaces in Naples, with the spire of the Immacolata rising in the center and the cloister of Santa Chiara just across the way.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Naples
Style: Baroque (with Renaissance palace facade)
What to See
Pause outside first and run your hand over the diamond-point stones of the facade — it is unlike anything else in church architecture. Inside, the ceiling frescoes need time; bring binoculars or use your phone camera to zoom in on Solimena's work. The shrine of St. Giuseppe Moscati is in a side chapel and includes his reconstructed office with original medical instruments and personal effects. The marble inlay throughout the nave is dense and colorful. After visiting the Gesù Nuovo, walk across the piazza to the cloister of Santa Chiara with its famous majolica-tiled garden — the two churches together form one of the best half-days in Naples.
Pilgrim Notes
The church is in the Spaccanapoli district, the old straight-line street that cuts through the ancient center of Naples. It is best reached on foot from the Dante or Toledo metro stations. The area is crowded and lively — this is Naples at its most Neapolitan. The church is open daily and free to enter. Mass is offered regularly. The piazza outside is a good place to sit and watch the city go by. Naples can feel chaotic, but the churches are calm inside, and the Gesù Nuovo is no exception.