Certosa del Museo di San Martino
Magnificently situated on the grounds of the Castel Sant’Elmo, this museum was founded in the 14th century as a Carthusian monastery but fell into decay until the 17th century, when it was reconstructed by architects in the Neapolitan baroque style. The marble-clad church has a ceiling painting of the Ascension by Lanfranco in the nave, along with 12 Prophets by Giuseppe Ribera, who also did the Institution of the Eucharist on the left wall of the choir (Lanfranco painted the Crucifixion and Guido Reni painted the Nativity at the choir’s back wall). In the church treasury is Luca Giordano’s ceiling fresco of the Triumph of Judith (1704) and Ribera’s masterful Descent from the Cross.
Now a museum for the city of Naples, the church displays two stately carriages, historical documents, ships’ replicas, china and porcelain, silver, Campagna paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries, military costumes and armor, and a lavishly adorned crib by Cuciniello. The vast collection of presepi (Neapolitan Christmas crèches) includes a cast of thousands of peasants and holy figures that have come out of the workshops of Naples’s greatest craftsmen over the past 4 centuries. A balcony opens onto a panoramic view of Naples and the bay, as well as Vesuvius and Capri. Many people come here just to drink in the view. The colonnaded cloisters have curious skull sculptures on the inner balustrade.
Next to the monastery is the star-shaped Castel Sant’Elmo (tel. 081-5784120), built by the Angevins in a strategic position above the city from 1329 to 1343. It was enlarged in the 16th century and today offers a magnificent 360-degree panorama of Naples and its bay after a walk through the echoic medieval stone halls now used for conferences and exhibits. Admission is 3€ ($3.90/£2).
from: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/italy/naples/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654610527
map:
Museo San Martino
Largo San Martino, 8
80129 Napoli (Napoli)
081 5341600
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