San Domenico Maggiore
Thomas Aquinas reportedly levitated in prayer here in 1273. Giordano Bruno — later burned for heresy — lived here too.
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Built for Naples' Angevin kings between 1283 and 1324, this Gothic monastery was the original seat of the University of Naples. The church was redecorated in Baroque style in 1670, then stripped back to its Gothic design in the 19th century. Two of philosophy's most consequential figures, one canonized and one executed, both called this place home.
What to look for
- The plague obelisk at the center of the square — topped with a statue of Saint Dominic, designed by Cosimo Fanzago after the 1656 plague and completed in 1737 under Charles III
- The Chapel of Saint Nicholas, where Aquinas was said to have been seen levitating before a crucifix icon after Matins on December 6, 1273
- The Gothic nave, restored in the 19th century after a 1670 Baroque overlay had altered its original Angevin character
Sits on Spaccanapoli (via Benedetto Croce), one of the original Greek east-west streets of ancient Neapolis; Piazza del Gesù Nuovo is a few blocks east along the same road.
San Domenico Maggiore is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Naples, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Naples pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Naples
- HerculaneumWhere Pompeii draws the crowds, Herculaneum kept the wooden doors, carbonized food, and 300 skeletons still in the boat houses.
- Stadio Diego Armando MaradonaThe city officially renamed this 54,726-seat ground for Maradona on 4 December 2020 — locals still argue over what to call it.
- Teatro di San CarloThe world's oldest continuously running opera house opened here in 1737 — decades before Milan's La Scala existed.
- Naples National Archaeological MuseumA cavalry barracks in 1585, a university for 160 years, now the building where the largest single sculpture ever recovered from antiquity lives.
- Museo di CapodimonteA Bourbon king built this palazzo to hold art he inherited — then it got looted, evacuated, and reassembled across three centuries.
- Castel Nuovo (Maschio Angioino)Built in three years flat from 1279, this waterfront castle was the seat of kings of Naples, Aragon, and Spain for over five centuries.