The Convent of San Pietro Martire

by Emma Maglio

The convent stands at the intersection of Corso Umberto I and Via Porta di Massa, near Piazza Ruggiero Bonghi, overlooked by the church of the same name. It now houses the activities pertaining to the Department of Humanities, as well as libraries, archives, and laboratories in the field of humanities.
The history of the building is rich in events.
The site, previously submerged by the sea, became buildable thanks to the accumulation of deposits brought by the course of water flowing along Via Mezzocannone. It was here that Charles II of Anjou granted some land to the Dominicans to build a church and convent (1249-1301).
In the initial phase, the buildings were modest. However, in the 16th century, Giovan Francesco di Palma designed a cloister inspired by Renaissance models (1570): seven arches on each side, supported by piperno stone pillars, defined a two-level ambulacrum giving access to the friars' cells, the church, the refectory, and other convent spaces.
The two levels have different methods of spanning the bays (barrel vaults on the ground floor, cross vaults on the first floor), the pillars are not vertically aligned, and on the ground floor, a base encloses the internal space with a central well.
On the second floor, the current building was originally a terrace with service rooms.
In the late 16th century, Fra Nuvolo's plan for the church was fulfilled, featuring a single-aisle layout with seven chapels on each side. The church was equipped with a large choir behind the altar and a slightly elliptical dome (1609).
Additionally, a square in front of the church was constructed (1623-1633), and a new bell tower was built by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti (1655).
In 1750, Giuseppe Astarita refurbished the decorative elements of the church in a Rococo style, introducing large windows and stucco motifs.
The 19th century marked the beginning of a new phase when the city's tobacco factory was relocated here (1809), leading to significant transformations carried out by Stefano Gasse (1836-1839) and Errico Alvino (1842-1859).
The latter designed the infilling of the arches, the reduction of the cloister's space, additions of upper levels, and intermediate floors, supported by iron beams on shaped brackets.
Above all, Alvino redesigned the facade on Via Porta di Massa and its bends around Piazza Bonghi and Vico degli Scoppettieri, forsaking the use of architectural orders and giving it an industrial character.
The ground floor was clad in smooth rustication, while the upper levels were divided by expansive string courses and distinguished by a continuous series of windows with lowered relieving arches.
A main entrance portal was opened in the facade.
In 1880, a fire damaged the factory, but it was immediately made operational again.
Meanwhile, the works of the Piano di Risanamento (Urban Renewal Plan) led to the layout of Corso Umberto I and the clearing of the square in front of the church, giving greater prominence to the complex in a renewed urban context.
In 1943, the building was damaged by bombings, and the subsequent reconstruction plan for Via Marittima authorised its demolition.
In 1953, the factory was relocated to the new site on Via Galileo Ferraris, and San Pietro Martire remained abandoned for a long time.
It was in 1962 that the University of Federico II obtained permission to first allocate the Department of Law and then the Department of Arts and Philosophy here, as part of a broader process of decentralising its campuses.
This led to a debate on the preservation of the building.
The restoration work, coordinated by Roberto Di Stefano (1977-1983), ultimately allowed for the recovery of the cloister's form and the conventual spaces, the removal of most of the 19th-century additions, and the preservation of the beautiful load-bearing structures in iron.
San Pietro Martire thus encapsulates eight centuries of history and transformations: from an enclosed space for purely religious use to a closed yet bustling productive space, and finally to an open and accessible space dedicated to culture and education.

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