Santa Maria di Costantinopoli
Encyclopedia
The Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is a 16th century church in Naples
, southern Italy
, located on the street of the same name.
Its name is allied to the cult of St. Mary of Constantinople, which rose to prominence in 1527-1528, during one of the frequent attacks of plague afflicting the city. In this time, an apparition of the Virgin to an elderly pleaded for the construction of a church where her image stood on a wall.
Construction began in 1575, and continued till completion in the first years of the 17th century under the intervention of the Dominican architect Giuseppe Nuvolo
. The façade was completed in 1633. The design is generally conservative with a central linear nave and two aisles, each with five chapels.
The interior was decorated in stucco by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro
; the vaulting uses gilded wood. The chapel entries have carved lintelpieces by Niccolò Tagliacozzi Canale (1728).
The first chapel on the right has an altarpiece of the Madonna of the Purity (17th century); the fourth chapel has a relief of the Martyrdom of St. Bartholemew (c. 1585) by the Flemish painter Aert Mytens. The high altar was designed in polychrome marble by Cosimo Fanzago
. It frames the 15th century fresco of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli; above it is a relief of God the father and to the side are statues of saints Rocco and Sebastian.
The apse lunette was decorated by Belisario Corenzio
with a fresco of the Virgin & John the Baptist pleading with the Trinity to liberate Naples from the plague. The arches hold images of prophets and sybils.
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, located on the street of the same name.
Its name is allied to the cult of St. Mary of Constantinople, which rose to prominence in 1527-1528, during one of the frequent attacks of plague afflicting the city. In this time, an apparition of the Virgin to an elderly pleaded for the construction of a church where her image stood on a wall.
Construction began in 1575, and continued till completion in the first years of the 17th century under the intervention of the Dominican architect Giuseppe Nuvolo
Giuseppe Nuvolo
Giuseppe Nuvolo was an Italian architect, an exponent of the Mannerist and early Baroque architecture, active mostly in Naples....
. The façade was completed in 1633. The design is generally conservative with a central linear nave and two aisles, each with five chapels.
The interior was decorated in stucco by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro
Domenico Antonio Vaccaro
Domenico Antonio Vaccaro was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect, the son and pupil of Lorenzo Vaccaro. Lorenzo was in turn a pupil of Cosimo Fanzago and was part of a large family of artists including Andrea Vaccaro, a pupil of Girolamo Imparato.Domenico Antonio was born in Naples and his...
; the vaulting uses gilded wood. The chapel entries have carved lintelpieces by Niccolò Tagliacozzi Canale (1728).
The first chapel on the right has an altarpiece of the Madonna of the Purity (17th century); the fourth chapel has a relief of the Martyrdom of St. Bartholemew (c. 1585) by the Flemish painter Aert Mytens. The high altar was designed in polychrome marble by Cosimo Fanzago
Cosimo Fanzago
Cosimo Fanzago was an Italian architect and sculptor, generally considered the greatest such artist of the Baroque period in Naples, Italy.-Biography:...
. It frames the 15th century fresco of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli; above it is a relief of God the father and to the side are statues of saints Rocco and Sebastian.
The apse lunette was decorated by Belisario Corenzio
Belisario Corenzio
Belisario Corenzio was an Italian Mannerist painter, a Greek by birth. He is reputed, with little documentation, to have studied under Tintoretto, in part because his drawings often resemble those of the Venetian painter...
with a fresco of the Virgin & John the Baptist pleading with the Trinity to liberate Naples from the plague. The arches hold images of prophets and sybils.