San Pietro a Majella

San Pietro a Majella is a church in Naples, Italy. The term may also refer to the adjacent Naples music conservatory, which occupies the premises of the monastery that used to form a single complex with the church.

The church stands at the western end of Via dei Tribunali, one of the three parallel streets that define the grid of the historic center of Naples; the church is considered one of the most significant examples of Angevin architecture in Naples and was built at the wishes of Giovanni Pipino da Barletta, one of the knights of Charles II of Anjou and the one responsible for destroying the last Saracen colony on the southern peninsula, in Lucera.

San Pietro a Majella was built in the early 14th century in Gotico Angioino style and was named for and dedicated to Pietro Angeleri da Morone, a hermit monk from Maiella (near Sulmona) who became Pope Celestine V in 1294. He was the founder of the Celestine monastic order, which occupied the church until 1799, when monasteries were suppressed by the Neapolitan Republic. After the restoration of the monarchy, the monastery was reopened, but in 1826 was converted to house the San Pietro a Maiella Conservatory, a function it preserves. The church underwent restoration in the 1930s and remains an open and active house of worship.

As was the case with much Angevin architecture in Naples, San Pietro a Majella underwent a Baroque make-over by the Spanish in the 17th century, but 20th-century restoration attempted to "undo" that and to restore the building to its original Gothic appearance.

Interior

The interior has three naves, separated by pillars supporting Gothic arches, with nine lateral chapels, plus four on each side of the chancel, and transept. The 14th century tomb of Giovanni Pipino da Barletta, architect of the church, is placed on the counter-façade.