Santa Croce e Purgatorio al Mercato, Naples, Former Catholic church at Piazza Mercato, Naples, Italy.
Santa Croce e Purgatorio al Mercato is a former church at Piazza Mercato with a layout of three naves arranged in a Greek cross shape. A prominent porphyry column stands as the building's most distinctive feature in the square.
The present structure was built in 1786 to replace an older chapel that had been destroyed by fire on the square. Architect Francesco Sicuro designed this new church to succeed the damaged earlier building.
The building serves as a memorial to a crucial moment in medieval Naples, and locals recognize it as a place tied to the city's political past. The inscribed column and religious design reflect how the community remembers its own history.
Access is currently not possible since the building has remained damaged since the 1980 earthquake and stays closed to visitors. Its valuable artworks were moved to Castel Nuovo for safekeeping.
The building preserves a coat of arms belonging to leather workers who once operated in Piazza Mercato. This detail shows how closely commerce and religion were intertwined in this part of Naples.
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