Complex of Santi Marcellino e Festo

by Salvatore Di Liello

"In our times, this church is beautiful, not inferior to almost any other of the other convents."
The words by which Sarnelli’s 1685 guidebook praised the church of Santi Marcellino e Festo can be attributed to the 17th-century composition of the sacred building designed by Giovan Giacomo di Conforto, between 1626 and 1633.
It was to be modified in the 18th century, by the likes of Mario Gioffredo and Luigi Vanvitelli.
The origins of the complex trace back to the early Middle Ages on the Monterone hill, where the Palace of the Dukes stood.
Two convents were established there, which were dedicated to Saints Marcellinus and Peter, and Saints Festus and Desiderius, which were documented as early as the 8th century and referenced in chronicles from the Ducal era.
During this period, the city continued to be influenced by the East and Byzantine Greek traditions, which became deeply ingrained in society, architecture, and religious practices.
There was still a vivid memory of this in the descriptions of the 17th and 18th centuries, similar to those of Sarnelli, whose description of the new church of Santi Marcellino e Festo glorified the presence of an ancient icon of the Savior.
This icon was referred to by ancient sources as a gift from Emperor Basil II to Pope Sylvester II.
However, according to tradition, it remained in Naples in the pre-existing early medieval church, supposedly due to a miracle.
Stories and legends from the ducal era continued to evoke memories of the Basilian influence.
This was the case even when, in accordance with the guidelines of the Council of Trent, during the diocesan synod of 1565, the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Antonio Carafa, established the union of the two ancient complexes into the new Benedictine monastery dedicated to Santi Marcellino e Festo.
The new structure occupied the extremity of the hill that extended towards the sea, adjacent to the port and the coastal settlements of medieval origin, accessible thanks to the ramp of San Marcellino.
The church was positioned behind the monastery, but its location allowed the facade of the building to be visible within the dense urban fabric that occupied the space in front of it.
The interior, modelled on the post-Tridentine Jesuit style, featured a hall layout with a dome above the tribune and side chapels which were adapted to the depth of the transept.
Designed by Conforto, it was completed with a dome covered in Maiolica tiles.
The interior was preceded by a stark renaissance facade that had notable similarities to that of the churches of San Gregorio Armeno, begun in 1574 following the design of Giovan Battista Cavagna, with whom Conforto had collaborated frequently.
Furthermore, the construction sites of both monasteries saw the presence of Vincenzo della Monica, to whom historiography attributes the architecture of the two cloisters – with further roles not yet fully specified and not excluding other contributions.
This led to multiple connections between the reconstruction of the two complexes.
Though it should be noted that the rectangular shape and size of the cloister of Santi Marcellino e Festo were long conditioned by the encroachment of the two pre-existing cloisters.
These two cloisters, which appeared separate in the view of Alessandro Baratta (1629) according to the old layout, are connected in the Map of the Duke of Noja.
The presence of the two gardens on the map continue to make references to traces of the early medieval cloisters.
Similarly to San Gregorio Armeno, in the church of Santi Marcellino e Festo, the vestibule also aimed to create a buffer between the external space, which was in contact with the church of Santi Severino e Sossio, and the interior.
The vestibule exhibited a stark façade that remained unfinished on the upper level, characterized by the arrangement of Tuscan and Ionic pilasters on two levels, separated by a Doric frieze and finished in a triangular pediment, much like the church of Cavagna.
The remarkable Baroque decorations included an extraordinary marble inlay cona (a type of altarpiece) built in 1666 by Dionisio Lazzari, a wooden ceiling with paintings by Massimo Stanzione, and frescoes (1630–1640) depicting Saints and Scenes from the Life of Saint Benedict by Belisario Corenzio in the intrados of the dome, the pendentives, and the arches of the transept chapels.
Following these invaluable Baroque additions, the 18th-century modernizations were overseen firstly by Gioffredo.
He designed the altar of the large chapel of Saint Benedict which is adorned with cherubs by Giuseppe Sanmartino.
Then, Vanvitelli took over, adding, between 1759 and 1768, marble coverings in the seventeenth-century interior layout of the church and expanding the convent.
He added a new cloister to the lower level and, in 1772, designed the so-called Oratorio della Scala Santa, which was to be completed after his death.
Dissolved in 1808, the monastery came under the ownership of the University of Naples in 1907.
In 1912, the Museum of Geology was transferred to the old building.
Founded in 1860, it was separated in 1932 from the Museum of Palaeontology, which was situated in the ancient Stanza Grande del Capitolo (Great Chapter Room), adorned with a splendid Maiolica floor crafted by Ignazio Chiaiese.

From the volume "Passeggiando per la Federico II" (second updated edition) edited by Alessandro Castagnaro - photographs by Roberto Fellicò - FedOAPress