Basilica di Santa Chiara
Basilica di Santa Chiara is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Naples audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~60 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Naples Naples guide
About Basilica di Santa Chiara
A magnificent Gothic church with a remarkable majolica-tiled cloister, one of the most beautiful spaces in Naples, and the tombs of the Angevin and Bourbon royal dynasties.
Santa Chiara is one of the great Gothic churches of southern Italy, founded by Robert of Anjou and his wife Sancia of Majorca between 1310 and 1328. The church houses the elaborate Gothic tombs of Robert of Anjou and other members of the Angevin and Bourbon dynasties who ruled Naples, masterpieces of 14th-century Gothic sculpture. But the most extraordinary feature of the complex is its cloister: the Chiostro delle Clarisse, remodelled in the 18th century by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, who covered every surface, the pillars, the benches, the walls, with hand-painted majolica tiles depicting bucolic scenes of daily life, mythological subjects, and landscapes in the vivid blues, yellows, and greens of Neapolitan ceramic tradition. The effect is of a garden frozen in tile, serene and joyful and unlike anything else in Europe. The complex was severely damaged by Allied bombing in 1943 but has been carefully restored. A small museum within the complex displays excavated Roman baths that lie beneath the church.
Did you know? The basilica of Santa Chiara was gutted by fire during Allied bombing in August 1943, though the majolica cloister survived; the church's reconstruction is considered one of the most important post-war cultural restoration projects in Italy.
How long should you spend at Basilica di Santa Chiara?
Plan about ~60 min at Basilica di Santa Chiara. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Basilica di Santa Chiara worth visiting?
Basilica di Santa Chiara is one of the 29 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Naples, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Naples
Hear the story of Basilica di Santa Chiara
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