Basilica de Santa Maria della Natività e San Ciro, Baroque church building in Portici, Italy.
The Basilica of Santa Maria della Natività e San Ciro is a Baroque church in Portici characterized by an ornate facade and curved architectural lines. The interior features several chapels decorated with marble, frescoes, and religious paintings throughout its spaces.
The original church was destroyed by the Vesuvius eruption of 1631. Construction of the new building began in spring 1632 under master builders Francesco Antonio Gisolfo and Giovanni Battista Conte, funded by the Università di Portici and citizen donations, and it was inaugurated on 9 May 1642. In 1740 Domenico Antonio Vaccaro added the dome and new sacristy; restorations from 1853 to 1858 replaced his stucco decoration.
San Ciro became Portici's main patron after the famine and plague of 1763, when the population petitioned Pope Pius VI and obtained the title in 1776. The clock in the left bell tower came from the tower of the church destroyed in the 1631 eruption and had marked the hours since 1630; a sundial was painted on the right tower in 1765.
The basilica is accessible by foot from Portici's main streets and easy to locate near the town center. Visitors should be aware that access may be restricted during religious services, and modest clothing is appreciated.
The left bell tower houses a clock mechanism that had stood since 1630 in the tower of the church destroyed by the 1631 eruption; the right tower carries a sundial painted in 1765. The two towers were finished in 1767.
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