Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, (), and also known as Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto, is an ancient church and convent located in "piazza Monteoliveto" in central Naples, Italy. Across Monteoliveto street from the Fountain in the square is the Renaissance palace of Orsini di Gravina.
History.
The church was originally built in 1411 by Gurello Orilia or Origlia, protonotary of the king Ladislas of Durazzo, who sponsored the construction of the church for the Monastery of "Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto", as it was first called. Some refer to this as the Church of Monteoliveto (it:Chiesa di Monteoliveto). The church was sited near the "Palazzo Carafa di Maddaloni". It was entrusted to the Benedictine order of Olivetans, whose mother house is the Abbey of Monte Oliveto in Tuscany. The convent received extensive patronage from Alfonso I of Aragon and members of his court. Further reconstructions of the church took place in 1581 by Domenico Fontana. In the 17th century, the church and convent were reconstructed in a Baroque style by Gaetano Sacco.
In 1798, King Ferdinand I removed the Olivetan order from the convent and church. The lay Arch-Confraternity of Lombardi moved into the church of Monteoliveto, which soon was renamed "Sant'Anna dei Lombardi"; the name was changed because the confraternity in 1798 had lost their own nearby church which had been dedicated to Saint Anne. In 1805, an earthquake collapsed a large part of the church. This collapse destroyed three Caravaggio paintings that once stood in the church: "St Francis in Meditation", "St Francis Receives Stigmata" and a "Resurrection".
The entire complex was at one time one of the largest monasteries in Italy, occupying what today can be measured only in "city blocks". Urban renewal from the 1930s literally built around the old premises, leaving much of the original structure standing in the center. For example, the gigantic main post office in Naples is at west end of the old monastery and the older edifice was simply incorporated into the back of the Naples Central Post Office such that the monastery seems to flow out of the more modern building. At the east end, the church, itself, is still in use, but the adjacent monastery premise and courtyard are now a Carabinieri (Italian national police force) barracks.
Description.
The church structure is unusual in that the nave has no transept, thus no crossing, but instead has a linear rectangular layout with ten lateral chapels. The initial plan is attribute to Andrea Ciccione, but it underwent an updated refurbishment in a late Renaissance style by Fontana. He is commemorated in the portico by a monument.
The architect Benedetto da Majano helped design and decorate the "Piccolomini" and "Correale" Chapels. The church decoration and structure reflects the 17th century and later reconstructions, which now obscure the original Gothic architecture.
Among its decorated interiors are the 16th century sanctuary which contains sculpture by Guido Mazzoni, Antonio Rossellino, Benedetto da Majano, Giovanni da Nola, Pedro Rubiales and others. Gothic details are still preserved in the tomb of Domenico Fontana, and the altar was executed on the design of Giovan Domenico Vinaccia by Bartolomeo and Pietro Ghetti.
At the mouth of the piazza in front of the church, is the "Fontana di Monteoliveto" (Fountain of Monteoliveto). It was commissioned by Pedro Antonio de Aragón from the architect Cosimo Fanzago, and completed in 1699. Atop stands a bronze statue of Charles II of Spain.
References.
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