Santi Apostoli

About

Legend holds that a church at the site was built atop a Temple of Mercury by Emperor Constantine. Restored by the Caracciolo Family, it was ceded in 1570 to the Theatine Order. By 1590, the adjacent cloister and monastery was designed by Francesco Grimaldi.

In the early 17th century was reconstructed by Giacomo Conforti. In 1638, the work was continued by Bartolomeo Picchiatti. In the 19th century, the Theatine order was suppressed and the church turned over in administrations.

An earthquake damaged the dome. The church now belongs to the Liceo Artistico Statale di Napoli. The counter-facade and ceiling panels were frescoed by Giovanni Lanfranco in the 1640s.

The panels contain the following depictions: a Martyrdom of Apostles Simone e Giuda; a Martyrdom of St Thomas Apostle; a Martyrdom of St Bartholomew; a Martyrdom of St Matthew; a Martyrdom of St John Evangelist; a Glory of the Apostles, Virtue, Prophets, Patriarchs, and finally the four Evangelists on the pendentives of the dome. The cupola has a large fresco depicting Paradise (1684) by Giovanni Battista Benasca, who also painted the frescoes in the chapel of St Michael...