Quadreria dei Girolamini, Renaissance art museum in Centro Storico, Naples, Italy

The Quadreria dei Girolamini is an art collection housed in a former monastic building in Naples' historic center, with paintings by Italian masters displayed throughout various rooms. The complex with its original spaces and central cloister forms a self-contained world within the dense medieval quarter.

The building began in 1586 when monks purchased a palace and transformed it into a monastery. Over the following centuries the complex grew and accumulated artwork that the monks preserved as a treasure.

The name refers to the Oratorians of San Filippo Neri, called Girolamini after Saint Jerome, whose church and convent house the collection. The first public picture gallery in Naples grew from Domenico Lercaro's 1622 bequest to the Congregation of the Oratory, joined in 1631 by the Milano family's paintings.

The collection is not open daily and requires advance planning and reservations, especially if traveling from far away. It makes sense to check ahead and arrange your visit in advance to avoid disappointment.

The collection began with Domenico Lercaro, a wealthy tailor and cloth merchant who in 1622 left his furniture and paintings to the Oratory Congregation, making this Naples' first public picture gallery. Two works he commissioned, Francesco Gessi's Saint Jerome and Meeting of Christ and Saint John the Baptist, were finished only after his death.