Naples: 2-Hour Walking Tour with Food Tasting Experience

Piazza del Gesù Nuovo

On the facade of the Gesu Nuovo church, the UNESCO plaque is affixed with the motivation for which the historic center of Naples has become a World Heritage Site:

«It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, whose contemporary urban fabric preserves the elements of its eventful history. The layouts of its streets, the richness of its historic buildings characterizing different eras give the site a universal value without equal, which has exerted a profound influence on much of Europe and beyond its borders. »
(UNESCO)

Spaccanapoli

The road is called "Spaccanapoli" as it clearly divides the ancient city between the north and the south with its perfect linearity.

Originally the track rose from Piazza San Domenico Maggiore and continued up to Via Duomo. In Roman times, the road stretched and also incorporated the area of ​​the current Piazza del Gesù Nuovo as evidenced by the remains of the Roman baths found under the cloister of the basilica of Santa Chiara.

During the Renaissance the street underwent enormous changes, the Gothic structures were remodeled or buildings were built on the soils of ancient demolished buildings. The main architects of the Neapolitan Renaissance were Giovanni Francesco Mormando and Giovanni Francesco di Palma who designed the Palazzo Marigliano and the Palazzo Pinelli.

During the sixteenth century, the Viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo started a process of territorial expansion towards the San Martino hill and aligned the decuman with an artery of the Spanish Quarters, in order to connect them with the city center to facilitate travel.

Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the private and religious buildings underwent further changes. In the nineteenth century some palaces were again restored to their original forms due to their importance while, only in the last century, due to the Second World War, the church of Santa Chiara resumed its Gothic structure hidden by eighteenth-century stuccos.

Via Duomo and the Cathedral from outside