Santa Chiara

Of the convent's four cloisters, only this one is open to visitors. The Poor Clares kept the 14th-century arcades and, in the 18th century, had the architect Domenico Antonio Vaccaro turn the center into a baroque garden. Two paths cross it, lined by 64 octagonal pillars covered in majolica tiles painted with leaves, flowers and fruit. Between the pillars run tiled benches whose backs show country, sea and mythological scenes and everyday life.

The tiles came from the workshop of Donato and Giuseppe Massa. The yellows, oranges and blues were chosen to echo the lemon trees and the vine pergola around them. One bench back shows the convent itself: a nun feeding the cloister's cats. Finding it is a small game worth playing.

The arcade walls carry frescoes from the first half of the 17th century, by an unknown painter probably of Belisario Corenzio's circle: Old Testament stories, saints and the theological virtues. The first stretch on the right is bare because the 1943 bombing destroyed it. Photos and video for private use are allowed; tripods and drones are not.

The same ticket covers several rooms most visitors rush past:

• The archaeological area. Roman baths found during the post-war restoration. The complex describes them as the most complete surviving example of the baths of ancient Neapolis. They lay outside the ancient city walls.
• The Museo dell'Opera. Rooms of history, marbles and reliquaries, with fragments of the basilica recovered after the 1943 fire.
• The presepe room at the cloister entrance, with an 18th and 19th-century nativity scene set on a rocky hillside. A good preview if you are heading to San Gregorio Armeno.
• A 15-minute video on the church before and after the bombing.

There is no guided tour for individuals. A free audio guide is available by QR code on your own phone, and it also covers areas closed to the public. Bring headphones. Groups of 25 or more can book a guide at least 10 days ahead.

Santa Chiara was the Angevin kings' church, and it opened for worship in 1340. Artists including Tino di Camaino and the Bertini brothers worked on it. In 1742 Vaccaro dressed the Gothic interior in baroque stucco and gilding.

On August 4, 1943, an air raid set the church on fire and destroyed almost all of it. It was rebuilt under Mario Zampino in its original Gothic form, stripped of the baroque layer, and reopened on August 4, 1953, ten years to the day. That is why the nave you see is so bare and tall: the single nave with ten chapels on each side is the 14th-century shell, not a modern design.

At the altar end stand the Angevin tombs: Robert of Anjou's by the Bertini brothers in the center, and tombs by Tino di Camaino for Charles of Calabria and Mary of Valois on the right. One chapel kept its 18th-century decoration; it holds members of the Bourbon royal family of the Two Sicilies, including the monument to Prince Philip, who died in 1777, with putti by Giuseppe Sanmartino, the sculptor of the Veiled Christ in the Cappella Sansevero.

The two halves overlap only in the morning. Between 9:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. both the cloister and the basilica are open. In the afternoon the basilica is closed until about 4:30 p.m. (the complex's pages give 4:30 p.m. and 4:40 p.m.), and by then the cloister is near closing. On Sundays the cloister shuts at 2 p.m.

The complex recommends about 40 minutes for the cloister; that is right for the garden and a quick look at the museum. Add 15 minutes for the baths. Santa Chiara is the first stop on our Spaccanapoli and decumani walk, directly opposite the Gesù Nuovo and at the head of Spaccanapoli.

The complex is in the old-town limited traffic zone. From Dante station on metro Line 1 it is about 540 m to the cloister entrance, 7 minutes on foot. From Università on Line 1 it is about 830 m. There is a taxi rank on Piazza del Gesù Nuovo. The cloister entrance is on Via Santa Chiara, along the side of the complex, not through the church. For hotels within walking distance, see our Centro Storico guide.

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.

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