Monastero di Santa Chiara

Santa Chiara is a large Franciscan complex founded between 1313 and 1340 by King Robert of Anjou and Queen Sancha of Majorca, standing at the eastern end of Spaccanapoli opposite the Gesù Nuovo. The Gothic basilica, where Robert is buried in a tomb carved by the Bertini brothers in 1343, was redecorated in baroque style in the 18th century. Allied bombing in August 1943 set it on fire and destroyed most of that interior, and the post-war restoration returned the church to a plain Gothic form.

What most visitors come for, though, is the cloister of the Clarissan nuns, behind the church. In 1742 Domenico Antonio Vaccaro transformed it with octagonal pillars and benches covered in hand-painted majolica tiles, decorated with climbing vines, lemons and scenes of country life, hunting and the sea. The tiles, set among the orange and lemon trees of the garden, make it one of the most photographed places in Naples. The walls of the surrounding arcades carry 17th-century frescoes, now faded.

The ticket to the monumental complex also includes the museum, which covers the history of the monastery and displays fragments that survived the 1943 fire, and the archaeological area, where the remains of a Roman bath complex from the 1st century AD have been excavated. Look out too for the large 18th-century nativity scene on display.

The complex opens from Monday to Saturday, 9.30 to 17.00, and on Sundays from 10.00 to 14.00. The basilica itself is free to enter and keeps its own hours for worship. Allow about an hour for the cloister and museum. The cloister is at its most peaceful first thing in the morning, before tour groups arrive, and is a good place to sit for a while.

This is a lovely, calm visit for couples, photographers and families alike, and its location makes it an easy stop on any walk through the old town.

Santa Chiara is on Via Santa Chiara, just off Piazza del Gesù Nuovo. The Gesù Nuovo church, Cappella Sansevero, San Domenico Maggiore and Via San Gregorio Armeno are all within a few minutes on foot, and Dante station on metro Line 1 is about ten minutes away.