Marc continues on his way home from the museum and stops at Naples' Duomo, the Cathedral of St. Gennaro. The big cities of Italy vied, over centuries, to be the hub of religious and political life. This expression of grandeur resulted in some of the biggest and most beautiful cathedrals and Basilicas (Duomos) ever to be built. And Naples is no slouch.
A martyr for practising his Christian beliefs in the early 300s, the patron saint of Naples is honoured with processions 3 times a year and in Little Italys around the world. Under the altar are his bones, and a vial of his blood. It happens that while resting in a sealed vial, his blood is non-liquid. When brought to the light on procession days, the blood liquefies, and Naples became known as The City of Blood. If it doesn't liquefy, legend has it that disaster will befall Naples in the coming year. It is also brought out during Papal visits. If it liquefies during the visit, favour is found on this Pope. With our current Pope, Pope Francis, it liquefied. The previous one? Not.
The neighbouring Cloisters of Santa Chiara are a riot of ceramic painting designed in the Rococco style and is a feast for the eyes. Earlier, I've written about the graffiti in Italian cities - it's everywhere. So much so, that you come to see blank walls as an anamoly. My impression is that it's an historic tradition, and I like to think the outdoor decoration of the Cloisters is no different, except by centuries than what we see on the Cloister's walls, benches, pillars and pathways. Beautiful.
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