Gesù Nuovo, Renaissance church in Naples, Italy
Gesù Nuovo is a Renaissance church in Naples with a facade made of dark gray diamond-pointed stones covering the entire front surface. The interior extends through a wide nave with side chapels decorated with marble, stucco, and paintings.
The building originated in the 15th century as the palace of the Sanseverino family and was sold to the Jesuit order in the late 16th century, who converted it into a church. The work stretched over decades, blending Renaissance elements with later Baroque additions.
The name Gesù Nuovo, "New Jesus", distinguishes it from the older Gesù Vecchio nearby. The church keeps the body of Saint Giuseppe Moscati, a physician canonized in 1987, in the Chapel of the Visitation; a bronze statue of him stands beside the altar. The composer Carlo Gesualdo, prince of Venosa, is buried in front of the Chapel of Saint Ignatius.
The church sits on Piazza del Gesù Nuovo in the historic center and opens daily for visitors, usually in the morning and late afternoon. The entrance is directly on the square, where benches also invite pausing.
The diamond-shaped stones of the facade carry small engraved signs that the Neapolitan stonecutters left on the piperno blocks. They are read as marks identifying the different work teams, not as astrological codes. The same facade preserves the 1470 palace of the Sanseverino and the 16th-century marble portal.
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