Piazza San Domenico Maggiore

Introducing the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, one of the most important squares in Naples. This square marks what was once the edge of the ancient Greek walls of Neapolis. Today it is one of the main attractions of the historic center of Naples, entirely listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was laid out in the 15th century during the reign of Alfonso V of Aragon, and takes its name from the church of San Domenico Maggiore, commissioned by Charles II of Anjou back in 1283. One unusual feature of the church is that visitors enter through the apse, the semi-circular area at the back, rather than the front façade, which opens instead onto the adjoining convent. San Domenico Maggiore served as the Dominican headquarters for the entire Kingdom of Naples and was the preferred place of worship for the city’s aristocracy, particularly those originating from the Kingdom of Aragon in Spain. It also welcomed major historical figures, including Saint Thomas Aquinas, who studied philosophy and theology within its walls. The church was also the chosen burial site for the Aragonese nobility, and in its sacristy, you’ll find forty tombs along with the sarcophagi of nearly the entire Aragonese dynasty that ruled Naples in the 15th century. Several royal hearts were once kept in silver urns here too, although they mysteriously vanished in the early 19th century during the brief Napoleonic Republic. Lavishly decorated in its prime, the church once housed paintings by artists who went on to become major figures in art history. These masterpieces have since been relocated to museums. Caravaggio’s “Flagellation of Christ” and Titian’s “Annunciation” are now at the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, while Raphael’s “Madonna of the Fish” is on display at the Prado in Madrid. At the center of the square stands the San Domenico Maggiore obelisk, erected by the people of Naples in 1656 as a tribute to Saint Dominic, credited with ending a deadly outbreak of the Black Death.