The recovery of the Basilica of San Severo and the Cappella dei Bianchi is another great milestone for the whole Sanità area.
Veiled Son
The sacrifice of the innocent sculpted by Jago.
The chapel called Cappella dei Bianchi becomes even richer with a precious piece of contemporary art.
The Veiled Son by Jago
The Veiled Son by Jago
In December 2019, the Italian sculptor Jago opened the permanent exhibition dedicated to his sculpture, the Veiled Son.
The work was sculpted into a single block of american marble, coming from Vermont. Drawing inspiration from the famous Veiled Christ, created in 1753 by Giuseppe Sammartino, the sculpture sets the contemporary world in stone, forcing visitors to face reality.
The artist
Jago is an Italian sculptor and video artist who lives and works in New York. His art is strongly rooted in the past, while also taking advantage of all the possibilities offered by digital technologies.
Jago shares the whole creative process with his audience through videos and social media, earning him the nickname social artist.
The homecoming
The Veiled Son was created during one year between New York and Long Island. In 2019, the sculpture returned in Naples, the place where it was conceived, to become part of the historical and artistic treasure of the Rione Sanità.
The operation was curated by Luca Iavarone, in cooperation with Coop4Art and the Arciconfraternita dei Bianchi di S. Antonio di Padova in S. Severo Massimo.
The Veiled Son goes to Rome
The work is now displayed in Rome as part of an exhibition dedicated to Jago, held in palazzo Bonaparte, Piazza Venezia 5, Rome.
While the Veiled Son in on display in Rome, the original plaster model can still be admired in the Cappella dei Bianchi. A slight change in the material that doesn’t affect the emotional impact of the Veiled Son.
San Severo
He was the twelfth bishop of Naples, between 363 and 409 AD.
San Severo's episcopate unfolded in a period when Christianity was heavily threatened by paganism and arianism. Despite the situation, Severo managed to strengthen Christianity, becoming the spiritual father of Neapolitan Christians.
The burial of San Severo
During his intense pastoral activities, Bishop Severo had four basilicas built, one of which he chose as his place of burial. Like San Gennaro and San Gaudioso, the Catacombs of San Severo were abandoned in 9th century by faithful and pilgrims after the remains of Severo were moved within the city walls.
The abandonment of the Catacomb
After the remains of San Gennaro had been stolen, all the saints and bishops buried outside the city walls were secured within the walls. San Severo made no exception, as his remains were brought in the basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore.
During the Late Middle Ages the catacomb still remained abandoned because of the mudslides flooding the whole area and closing the entrance to the burial sites.
The Basilica of San Severo outside the city walls
The Basilica was built in the 16th century on San Severo's burial site.
The Basilica was originally built in 1573 by archbishop Carafa and restored in 1680 by architect Dionisio Lazzari. Nowadays it's one of the main meeting places for the people of the Sanità, that has been brought back to its splendour in the spring of 2017.
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The restoration works involved the dome, the façade and the square. The façade is painted white and pink, with frescoes of San Severo, San Francesco and Sant'Antonio. The square is now alive with new street furniture and the mural Perseveranza (Perseverance) by Matu & Sal.
The interior of the Basilica has a Latin cross structure, with three chapels on either side, with works by Leandro Carcano (The Annunciation), Paolo De Matteis (Our Lady of the Rosary with Dominicans saints), and Pietro Lambertucci (Saints Peter and Paul).
The recovery of the sites
The Basilica of San Severo is an important meeting place for the youth of the surrounding area, as it's home to the Sanitansamble orchestra, the Apogeo Records recording studio, and after-school activities for children. Back in the 18th century, it was where Italian composer Domenico Cimarosa was taught his first music lessons.
Music and its power to turn sound into colours is the idea behind the huge wall painting Perseveranza by Matias Noguera Matu. The Chilean artist, with the help of volunteer Salvatore Bakalù, created the impressive piece of art where sound and vision melt, recalling the bonds explored by Klee, Kandinsky, Carrà.
Street furniture has been organised and created with the support of the Department of Architecture - University of Naples, L'Altra Napoli ONLUS association, Fondazione Vismara, Euphorbia, the Association of Trade and Merchants of Rione Sanità, ReLegno, Consulting and Design Studio Asta Fiorenza and Romano Francesco, and chosen with the people of the Sanità.
The Cappella dei Bianchi
The restoration of the chapel unveiled a treasure chest.
In 1621 the Archconfraternity of the Bianchi (a religious group) bought the Chapel of Sant'Antonio to celebrate rituals and to bury their deceased associates.
The Chapel enshrines works by Italian painters Giordano, Fracanzano and Vaccaro. The side walls tell stories of San Francesco through 12 paintings and the vault is decorated with 4 paintings: Il Padre Eterno (the Heavenly Father), La Vergine col Bambino e Santi (The Virgin with child and Saints), L'Immacolata e San Francesco (The Immaculate and San Francesco).
The catacombs of San Severo
The catacomb of San Severo and its frescoes are not yet open to the public.
The catacomb of San Severo dates from the 5th century AD and was discovered by
Gennaro Aspreno Galante in 1867.
All that now remains of the original catacomb is a small, almost square room entirely carved out of tuff. It has undergone various changes over the centuries, with one side eventually being demolished to build a rectory.
Three arcosolia are still visible, two of which partially intact, while the third is almost completely indecipherable.
The arcosolia
The arcosolium opposite the entrance has remains of the fresco, which depicts San Protasio on a dark green background. Some copies that were sketched and preserved allow us to identify the missing portion, in which Galante is looking at the effigy of the martyr Gervasius: these are the oldest images of the martyrs in Milan, dating to the 5th century, and are even older than the mosaics of the same figures in the basilica of San Satiro in Milan.
In the arcosolium on the left, a jeweled cross is depicted together with two saints, the youngest of which might be St. Ambrose, while the other older is St. Severus:the two saints met in 391 and their friendship is confirmed by their written correspondence. The outside of the arcosolium is decorated with floral motifs and birds, and the figure on the surviving external corner is indicated as Sanctus Evtyches.
In the middle arcosolium we can see five figures: in the center, a young man holding in his left hand an open codex, to the side of him four saints, including the two right next to him as the Apostles Peter and Paul. The other two are assumed to be the bishops Gennaro and Severo.
Basilica San Severo
The Basilica and the Chapel are open to the public, entrance is free.
Opening times
From Mondays to Sundays, from 10 am until to 1 pm.
The Holy Mile, guided tour in Italian of Rione Sanità
- Tours
- Every Sunday at 9 am
- Language
- Italian
- Duration
- 3 hours 30