This is a short summary of the article “The Church of Saints Philip and James in Naples” from Webzine SILKROADIA VOL.3 NO.2. For more information, please download our Webzine. http://www.sun-silkroadia.org/board/view?bd_id=webzine&wr_id=651

The Church of Saints Philip and James is in the heart of Naples, on the famous Via Spaccanapoli. Its construction began in the 16th century, but it was only completed and inaugurated in the following century, in 1641. It was the seat of the Consulate of Silk Art for about 300 years.

The Consulate of Silk Art was founded by King Ferdinand I of Naples in 1465, whose Aragonese family played an important role in the development of the art of silk. The best silk workers from Venice, Genoa and Florence were invited to come to Naples, where they were offered raw materials, tools, citizenship rights, and so on. Naples emerged as an important silk processing center thanks to the Concorde agreement between the Royal Court, the Silk Decorator, and the Silk Consuls. The Consulate of the Silk Art had its seat in the church dedicated to Saints Philip and James, which functioned as a tribunal dealing with matters concerning the production and trade of silk.

The interior of the church is characterized by a single nave and eight side chapels, four on the right and four on the left. The apse space is covered by a dome. Looking at the vault, we immediately notice a beautiful fresco, painted by Alessio D’Elia in 1750, depicting the Virtues: Charity, Fortitude, Temperance, Science, Faith, and Zeal. The ceiling of the nave was frescoed in 1759 by Jacopo Cestaro, who chose to paint several saints and significant Christian events.

© 2022 Alessia Mercuri, Emanuele Santoro all rights reserved