Gesu Nuovo

Stand in the square before you go in. The facade is faced in piperno, the grey volcanic stone of Naples, cut into rows of pointed blocks. Many of them carry small carved marks. Neapolitan legend says the masons cut them to bring good fortune but set them the wrong way round, bringing ruin to the Sanseverino instead. A more recent theory, repeated by the city's tourism office, claims the marks can be read as a musical score. Treat both as stories, not history.

The marble doorway is the other clue that this was a palace entrance. The Jesuits added the church behind it and left the front almost as it was. In the middle of the square stands the tall Baroque spire of the Immacolata.

The interior is a Greek-cross plan, and every surface is decorated. In 20 minutes, look for:

• Francesco Solimena's Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, the huge fresco on the inside wall above the main door. Turn round as you enter.
• The dome. Giovanni Lanfranco's first dome was destroyed in the earthquake of 1688, and Paolo de Matteis repainted the new one.
• The vault frescoes, biblical and saintly scenes that exalt the name of Jesus, the Jesuits' own theme.
• The high altar, with eight busts of saints linked to the Eucharist, and medallions by Gennaro Calì and Costantino Labarbera.
• The chapel of Saint Francis Xavier and the Sacred Heart chapel at the end of the right aisle, rebuilt after the 1688 earthquake.

The coloured marble inlay on walls and floors is the typical Neapolitan Baroque technique; compare it with the plain Gothic of Santa Chiara across the square, rebuilt after the 1943 bombing.

Giuseppe Moscati was a Naples physician who treated poor patients, often without charging. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987, and he is the reason many Neapolitans come here.

• The chapel of the Visitation holds his remains in a bronze urn, under an altarpiece by Massimo Stanzione. The urn's three panels, by Amedeo Garufi, show him teaching students, in prayer, and comforting the sick in hospital.
• The bronze statue to the left of the altar, by Pier Luigi Sopelsa, was put up in 1990. Its hand is worn by the touch of visitors.
• The Moscati rooms recreate the spaces where he worked and hold hundreds of silver ex-votos: hearts, limbs and small plaques left in thanks for graces received.

This is an active place of prayer. Keep your voice down, do not photograph people praying, and wait for a service to end before walking round.

The listed hours put a long break in the early afternoon, from about 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Come in the morning, before or after the first Mass, or late afternoon. Allow 20 to 30 minutes, more if you visit the Moscati rooms.

Because we could not confirm the hours from the church itself, check the times posted at the door when you arrive. Many visitors do the square in one go: the Gesù Nuovo, then Santa Chiara's majolica cloister (ticketed), then east along Spaccanapoli toward Cappella Sansevero. Our Spaccanapoli and decumani walk starts right here.

The nearest metro is Dante on Line 1, about 470 m and 6 minutes on foot. From Via Toledo, walk a few minutes east into the square. It sits on the western edge of the Centro Storico, the UNESCO-listed old town. It is busy in the evening; keep your phone and bag in sight, as anywhere crowded in Naples (see Is Naples safe?).

Naples: Downtown Tour with Veiled Christ & St Clare Tickets

Only 30 people are allowed in the chapel at once, so expect to queue. The cloister is always closed on Sunday afternoons, when the tour covers the chapel only.

2.5 hours

4.9★★★★★★★★★★(7,010 reviews)

Reserve

Rating as shown on GetYourGuide

Booking through these links supports this site at no cost to you. Prices move by date, so we do not print them here; the official prices we checked are in the page above.