San Francesco di Paola
Napoleon wanted a monument; the Bourbons got a church — and kept the Pantheon-scale dome.
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Joachim Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, broke ground in 1816 on an imperial tribute to the emperor. After Napoleon's fall, Ferdinand I finished the building as a church, dedicating it to Saint Francis of Paola, who had lived in a monastery on this exact site in the 16th century. The circular nave and 53-metre dome make the Pantheon comparison hard to avoid — because it was designed that way.
What to look for
- The 53-metre dome above a circular nave — the Pantheon resemblance is deliberate, not decorative
- Vincenzo Camuccini's apse painting of St Francis of Paola resuscitating a dead man
- The six-column portico by Neapolitan architect Leopoldo Laperuta, which anchors the sweeping colonnades of Piazza del Plebiscito
On the west side of Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples' main square — the colonnades wrap the whole plaza and frame the approach.
San Francesco di Paola 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.