Visita guidata al Complesso Monumentale di Santa Caterina a Formello

The tour takes visitors to discover the eastern edge of the ancient city of Naples, whose focal point is the monumental complex of S.Caterina a Formello. The complex, once an important monastery island, today presents a mixture of sacred and profane, highlighted by the architectural stratification and the multiple uses that have been made over the centuries. From the Aragonese setting that culminates in Porta Capuana, passing through baroque art in the church of Santa Caterina and reaching the chimneys of the former Bourbon Bourbon Lava Lanificio, a few steps transform into a journey through the centuries in one of the most Rich and unknown throughout the city.                                                  Tour stages

1. Capuana Gate
2. Bust of San Gennaro
3. Church of Santa Caterina in Formello
4. Small cloister of Santa Caterina in Formello
5. Cedar Cloister
6. Ex Sava Lanificio

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The itinerary

At Porta Capuana, starting point of the route, the first notions of the enlargement of the Aragonese town wall before (1484) and vicereal then (1537) are given, placing the accent on the door, its decorative and defensive function and its history. Crossed the door, the busty group at S.Gennaro's bustle, to admire this beautiful example of baroque urban furnishings. Intrinsic to the typical spirit of devoted parthenopeos, it allows a first glimpse at the facade of the church of S. Caterina a Formello, marked by neoclassical pilgrims. You reach the church through the impressive baroque portal signed by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti, a famous sculptor of Neapolitan school. Entering the church you can visit the ten chapels of the main nave, the transept with its important decorative furniture, the funerary monuments of the Spinelli family located in the presbytery and the sacristy with its ancient wooden furnishings. The group then headed to the small cloister, until 1809, part of the religious complex, currently characterized by an extraordinary find of industrial archeology inserted in the harmonious forms of the previous ones, making the visitors clearly perceive the stratification that characterizes the complex. The visit continues in the Great Cloister, called "dei Cedrangoli", where it is even better to admire the architectural connotation between the conventual and the industrial times. Here we introduce the theme of the development and sunset of manufacturing industry during the Bourbon realm, of which the former Sava Lanificio is an emblematic case. In the courtyard are noted the ancient wells of the monumental complex, whose water supply function attributes to the whole area the name of "Formello", which only reveals to those who descend in its bowels the tuff its most obvious secret, the origin Of that name that everyone knows.

The tour takes about an hour and a half.   The cost of the guided tour includes an association fee of 10 euros per person, free of charge up to 6 years, reduced by 5 euros up to the age of 18. The participation fee includes the release of the membership card at the Le Sirene Cultural Association.