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 church is also known as Gesù Nuovo, meaning New Jesus, and holds numerous chapels and altars sponsored by different families who shaped and funded the interior over centuries. Visitors today still see traces of these endowments, which made the building a space for private devotion and public piety.
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 facade stones carry engraved signs and symbols whose meaning remains puzzling to this day and has sparked many interpretations. Some scholars suspect they hold clues to astrological codes or protective marks from the time of the palace construction.
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