I’ve been in a lot of big cathedrals and churches: Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame, just to name a few. But the Naples Cathedral was one of the most gorgeous ones that I’ve ever visited.
It was built in the 4th century and is the main church in Naples. It is famous for it’s vial of miracle blood: the blood of the city’s patron San Gennaro. It miraculously liquifies. The vial is brought out twice a year, on the first Saturday in May and on 19 September, and legend has it that if the blood does not liquefy then disaster or poor fortune will befall Naples. (In more recent history the results of the Naples’ football club have been tied to the vial.) Aside from its special days, the vial is also brought out when a pope visits Naples. The vial did not liquify when Benedict visited in 2007, but it did when Francis visited in 2015. (Apparently that represents the saint’s favour towards Francis.)
I’m fascinated by the miracle of the blood and I wish that it was on display for visitors. Though I guess that would rob it of its holiness a bit. (Though I did see a wristband reliquary of a saint in Malta). If the blood liquefies, then the bishop holds it up for the crowd to see and joyfully announces, “I give you the good news, the blood has liquefied.” (But in Italian). The miracle is celebrated with a 21-gun salute at the Castel Nuovo, then it is placed near the altar rail so that pilgrims can file past and kiss the miraculous relic.
A test in the 1900s verified that the vial does actually have blood in it, but because it is sealed it can’t be tested to see if there are any other substances in there as well. A popular theory amongst sceptics of the miracle is that there is also a substance like liquid honey or wax in there that melts from the heat of the bishops hands, giving the dried blood the appearance of liquifying again.
I genuinely enjoy both the idea of the miracle and the idea of this centuries long wax con, so I’m not going to throw my hat in the ring with my opinion.
Besides the vial, there are many reasons to visit Naples Cathedral. Giovanni Lanfranco’s fresco in the Cappella di San Gennaro (Chapel of St Janarius) being one of the more famous reasons why people visit. And I can attest, the frescos are stunning. You can also see the Battistero di San Giovanni in Fonte. It’s Western Europe’s oldest baptistry, and it’s encrusted with fragments of glittering 4th-century mosaics.
Naples Cathedral is located at Via Duomo, 147, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy. You can visit any time during the day when there isn’t a service on.
Have you ever visited Naples Cathedral?
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