Naples boasts hundreds of churches and cathedrals of all sizes, and it is almost impossible to visit the city without entering a few of them. There are baroque churches, gothic, modern ones, but of the churches I visited, I liked the Santa Chiara most. The cathedral itself is a straightforward structure. It was largely destroyed in a bombardment in the Second World War, and although much of the original embellishments have been lost, it is still easy to appreciate the simple and honest interior. Here you will find no excessive use of gold or intricate decorations.

The real attraction of the Santa Chiara is the cloister area just behind the cathedral. It is wise to visit when the weather is fine, as the sunlight gives a special brilliance to the garden and especially the majorica tiles that decorate the pillars. Around the cloister, in the porticoes, there are restored frescoes with the usual biblical scenes. The real attraction is the inner garden, where you can not only enjoy the sun but also study the colourful tiles on the pillars and the seats.

In contrast to the frescoes, the decorations on the pillars depict fruits and flowers, while you can see scenes of daily life on the seats. The bright colours and the recognizable themes of these tiles make you feel joyous and light. You just have to be careful not to sit on one of the seats, no matter how inviting they look. In order to protect them, it is not allowed to sit on them. As an alternative, you can sit in the middle of each side of the garden on the stairs.

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Santa Chiara (). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Santa Chiara.
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