San Vitale Church, Catholic church in Naples, Italy.
San Vitale Church is a Catholic church on Piazza San Vitale in the Fuorigrotta district of Naples, rebuilt between 1952 and 1954 to a design by Ferdinando Chiaromonte. Its exterior is dominated by a dome modelled on that of Florence Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. Inside are two large paintings by Paolo De Matteis, The Triumph of Judith and The Triumph of David, kept from the earlier church.
A church or oratory dedicated to Saint Vitalis is documented in Fuorigrotta from 985, its cult arriving with the Byzantine duchy dependent on Ravenna. Cardinal Pascual de Aragón, viceroy of Naples, was consecrated bishop here on 28 February 1666. The building was demolished in 1939 for Viale Augusto and Piazza Italia, then rebuilt elsewhere between 1952 and 1954 to a design by Ferdinando Chiaromonte.
The church is dedicated to Saint Vitalis of Bologna, a cult that reached Naples when the city was a Byzantine duchy dependent on Ravenna. A 16th-century document still records the San Vitale place name in Fuorigrotta. On 28 February 1666 the church hosted the episcopal consecration of Cardinal Pascual de Aragón, viceroy of Naples.
The church stands on Piazza San Vitale along Viale Augusto in Fuorigrotta, the rebuilt square that took back its old name after the 1939 demolition. The nearby Napoli Piazza Leopardi station on the direttissima line, opened in 1927, is named after the poet even though the original piazza no longer exists. The building was handed to the parish on 1 July 1963 after work that ran into the 1960s.
The church's dome is modelled on the cupola of Florence Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. Inside are two large canvases by Paolo De Matteis, Il Trionfo di Giuditta and Il Trionfo di Davide, kept from the earlier building. A Ruffatti organ from Padua was installed in 1968 and enlarged in 1996.
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