Built in 1411, the Chiesa di Monteoliveto is not large but is chock-full of art works, as this was one of the favorite churches of the Aragonese royal family. The church opens onto a pretty square graced by the Fontana di Monteoliveto, considered to be the most beautiful baroque fountain in Naples. This fountain was built for Don Pedro de Aragona in 1699, based on a design by Cosimo Fanzago: It is a grandiose celebration of royal authority, with white marble eagles and lions crowned by the bronze statue of Carlo II d'Asburgo. In the atrium, behind the church's elegant facade in piperno (a unique colorful stone which was carved in underground quarries in the Naples area), is the tomb of the architect Domenico Fontana. Inside the church are three superb Renaissance chapels: Cappella Correale to the right of the entrance, with an altar by Benedetto da Maiano and the San Cristoforo over the altar by Francesco Solimena; Cappella Piccolomini to the left of the entrance -- an almost perfect replica of the more well-known Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal in the Florentine San Miniato al Monte church, graced by the tomb of Maria d'Aragona by Antonio Rossellino and Benedetto da Maiano; and Cappella Tolosa, also to the left, attributed to Giuliano da Maiano and decorated in the styles of Brunelleschi and della Robbia. This last chapel is a triumph of sculpture, and gives a good overview of 15th- and 16th-century Neapolitan sculpture. From the right of the presbytery you can access the old sacristy with its vaulted ceilings frescoed by Giorgio Vasari. Its walls, decorated with wood inlays depicting classical panoramas, musical instruments, and other scenes, were created by Giovanni da Verona between 1506 and 1510.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Amalfi Coast, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»