traveldk.com

The Appian Way, the first Roman highway, led south to Capua, the “biggest and richest city in Italy”, according to Livy in the 1st century BC.

Every summer, Naples’ tallest belltower is “burned” in commemoration of a legend that recounts how an icon kept here, the Madonna Bruna, saved it from being destroyed by fire. An array of fireworks are dramatically set off at the climax of the festivities.

Home to the Madonna Bruna icon, the focus of a Naples cult.

The Neapolitan poet Jacopo Sannazaro, a confirmed humanist, ordered this church to be built in the 16th century and his tomb behind the high altar is notable for its lack of Christian symbolism. In a side chapel the painting of the Archangel Michael spearing the “Mergellina Devil” records the spiritual victory of a local bishop when a woman proclaimed her love for him.

The railings here are adorned with bronze skulls, evoking the tradition of care for the dead.

This 13th-century church contains Cavallini frescoes.

Nicknamed Pietrasanta (holy stone) after its ancient stone marked with a cross, thought to grant indulgences to whoever kissed it, the original church here was built in the 10th and 11th centuries and the belltower is Naples’ only example of early medieval architecture. The present church, however, is Baroque.

The original church on this site is believed to have been built in the 5th century over a Roman temple to Mercury. It was rebuilt in the 17th century, with decoration added over the next 100 years. As such it provides a complete treasury of 17th- and 18th-century art, not just by Neapolitan artists but by some the greatest masters of the day. Most famous is the fresco cycle by Lanfranco, with a marvellous trompe-l’oeil architectural setting by Codazzi. Other highlights are the altar designed by Borromini and paintings by Giordano in the transept.

The site of former 8th-century monasteries enjoys fine views.