A stone's throw from Piazzetta Nilo, in via Giovanni Paladino, is the basilica of Gesù Vecchio. This name serves to distinguish it from the church of Gesù Nuovo, a much larger religious building which was built by the Jesuits in a subsequent moment of particular expansion.
The basilica was founded in 1554 and the construction works in the early years saw the architects Giovanni Tristano and Giovanni De Rosis as protagonists. However, between 1608 and 1623 the building was rebuilt by Pietro Provedi and the consecration of the basilica took place only in 1632. Next to the church, the college of the Society of Jesus was built. The story changed completely when in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom of Naples. On that occasion the basilica changed its name to Santissimo Salvatore, while the college became the seat of the University of Naples "Federico II" and of the Library. The Jesuits, however, returned in 1804 and the basilica resumed its original name. The first half of the 19th century is marked by the figure of Don Placido, priest of the Gesù Vecchio from 1806 to 1851 very devoted to the Madonna. Furthermore, these were appreciated in the city by the Neapolitan people, but also by the royal court who often went to the church to visit the reverend. The fame of Don Placido's Madonnina grew more and more so as to be crowned on December 30, 1826 protector of Naples. Since then, on the first Saturday following December 30, the so-called "privileged Saturday", a particular veneration of the Madonna has been held in which a moved crowd of faithful participates.
The basilica has a Baroque façade created by Giovan Domenico Vinaccia at the end of the seventeenth century. What makes it special is its concave-convex shape, which gives movement and dynamism to the entire structure.
The interior has a Latin cross plan, with a single central nave overlooked by four chapels on each side. Among the most important we mention the third chapel on the right dedicated to San Francesco Borgia, in which there is a typically Baroque decoration by Bartolomeo Ghetti, while the statue of the saint was performed by Pietro Ghetti. Another notable chapel of this church is the second on the left side where there is the San Luigi Gonzaga in Glory by Battistello Caracciolo (1627).
The transept area is rich in masterpieces, especially sculpture. The large chapel on the right, dedicated to San Francesco Saverio, was designed by Cosimo Fanzago, a multifaceted figure of the Neapolitan seventeenth century. The great artist, originally from Lombardy, also sculpted the statues of Isaiah and Jeremiah, placed on the sides of the altarpiece by Cesare Fracanzano depicting St. Francis Xavier baptizing the natives. The two statues are a vertex of Fanzaghian production and in each of them a certain expressive tension of the bodies is found which is combined with a liveliness of the faces. Furthermore, the skilful hand of the Lombard sculptor can be appreciated in the draperies that "move" the clothes of the two prophets, creating a happy play of light and shadow. Also from Fanzago are the marble decorations that adorn the entire structure with floral motifs.
The left chapel of the transept is, however, dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It too was designed by Fanzago and, in fact, the composition is almost a mirror image of that of the large chapel in front of it. The statues of Gideon and Joshua, placed laterally, were commissioned in Fanzago, but were later entrusted to Matteo Bottiglieri, an important sculptor of the first half of the eighteenth century. At the centre of the newsstand stands a valuable altarpiece by Francesco Solimena.
Behind the main altar there is a double flight of stairs decorated with a series of stucco angels. It leads to a festive apsidal machine in which there is the wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception, which was sculpted by Nicola Ingaldi and which in the past belonged to Don Placido.
Information:
Free entry Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Sunday from 7 a.m. to noon
