Naples: Marble and Markets

We had the morning to explore a bit of Naples before our train to Florence. There was a marble sculpture we’d read was worth visiting—"Veiled Christ" at Cappella Sansevero. This chapel isn’t very old and is more of a museum. It was built in the mid-1700s by the Prince of Sansevero. He was an inventor, patron of the arts and first Grand Master of Neapolitan Freemasonry. He commissioned various artists to produce marble sculptures and works of art to decorate his chapel. Many of these pieces show incredible detail. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but are sharing some from the website.

Besides the gossamer veil over the body of Christ, we were especially impressed by the statue representing “Disillusion,” one of the ten “virtues,” or more like stages along an arduous pathway towards knowledge and perfection. The rope net binding the figure was so delicate that the stonemason’s assistants refused to file/sand them for fear of breaking it. So the artist had to do it all himself.

Another thing we did before leaving was to go to a Roman market that had been excavated beneath a present-day cathedral. An eruption of Mt. Vesuvius around 400 AD buried the site in “mud,” formed by steam and ash.Read more