San Gennaro: Patron Saint of Naples
A brief look at the saint and his depiction in art
San Gennaro, martyred circa 305, is the patron saint of the former Kingdom (now city) of Naples, officially adopted in the 5th century. His feast day is 19 September, marking his martyrdom. The cult of San Gennaro centers around the miraculous liquefaction of his blood, held in two small ampoules in a reliquary in the Cathedral of Naples. This miracle is credited with protecting the city from a variety of disasters, from eruptions of Mount Vesuvius to famine and social unrest.
HAGIOGRAPHY
According to accounts of San Gennaro’s life, before persecution and martyrdom, the saint was bishop of Benveneto in the Campania region. During the reign of Diocletian (284-305), there was significant persecution of Christians. Campania was governed by the pagan Timothy ordered by the emperor to “offer sacrifices to idols and to compel all who believed in Christ to do the same.”[1] As Timothy carries out his duties, other martyrs name San Gennaro during their trials, thus bringing the future saint the attention of the hostile government.
San Gennaro predictably defies orders to sacrifice to the gods of the empire and tells Timothy that God will punish him for his blasphemy, specifically muting, deafening, and blinding him. After this denial, the vengeful and rage-filled Timothy orders a furnace to be heated for three days to burn San Gennaro alive. Upon entering the fiery furnace, San Gennaro makes the sign of the cross, looks to heaven, and prays. Hereupon, the first miracle in the narrative of the martyrdom occurs as angels flank San Gennaro as he walks unscathed through the furnace praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with them. Soldiers guarding the furnace hear the voices emanating from within and abandon their post in fear, reporting to the judge what they have witnessed. When all return to open the furnace to investigate, flames leap out taking a few casualties among incredulous observers, but San Gennaro is unscathed much to the astonishment and consternation of his tormentors.
Following this first execution attempt, another exchange with Timothy takes place. Again, Timothy disparages San Gennaro for using “magic” and implores him to offer incense to the pagan gods and save himself from further suffering. Once more, the saint is defiant and restates his unwavering belief in God and Jesus Christ. He underlines that the strength of his faith is such that no attempts to strike fear in his heart can be efficacious. This of course enrages the pagans who send him back to prison.
The next day, Timothy makes a final appeal to San Gennaro who once again rebukes the governor and implores repentance from his captors, might that they save themselves from further wrath from God. He is sent back to prison, praying that Christ will mercifully command him to depart the earthly plane. Around this time, the deacon Festus and the reader Desiderius, learn of their bishop's captivity and set out for the nearby city of Nola, where San Gennaro is held. Here they make an appeal for San Gennaro’s Holy character and deeds:
Why is such a man in custody? What crimes did he commit? When did he fail to aid those in trouble? What sick man was visited by him without regaining health? Who approached him weeping and went away not rejoicing? [1]
This testimony by Desiderius and Festus is important as it foreshadows San Gennaro’s veneration as the patron saint of Naples and posthumous miracles attributed to him. Unfortunately, their appeal is only effective in having them join their bishop in detention. Timothy asks San Gennaro to identify them and if they are fellow Christians, and he does so, confirming that they are all prepared to die for the love of God.
This is the final straw for Timothy, who condemns them to be mauled to death by wild beasts, along with other imprisoned Christian contemporaries in the Flavian amphitheater in the city of Pozzuoli. First, the martyrs-to-be are dragged before the chariot of the governor from Nola to Pozzuoli before being brought to the center of the amphitheater to await the ferocious animals. Once again, San Gennaro and his company pray as attempted torment descends upon them and emerges unscathed. The beasts become docile in front of the Christians, much to the exasperation of Timothy and the other officials who decide decapitation is the means to put an end to their ongoing failure to carry out their Diocletian-appointed duties.
Here, the story of San Gennaro’s martyrdom reaches its climax as he prays that God “blind [Timothy’s] eyes so that he may not see the light of heaven.” The prayer is answered—Timothy suddenly loses his sight and begins to suffer in pain, then calling San Gennaro to be brought to him. He then implores the saint to pray for mercy on his behalf. San Gennaro obliges and Timothy is miraculously restored to sight and freed from pain. The culmination of these events begins to sway the large crowd in the amphitheater to San Gennaro’s cause, shouting:
Will not the God of such and so great a man be feared? Will he not perhaps take revenge for their sufferings and death and will we not all likewise perish? [1]
Timothy hastily sends San Gennaro and the other Christians away for beheading, fearing this quick turn of sentiment amongst the people. On the way to execution, an enfeebled elderly man asks the saint for a piece of his clothing, which he promises to deliver after his burial. Also during his persecution, his mother has a dream that he is ascending to heaven. She is puzzled by its meaning until she learns he has been imprisoned for his faith. She then takes to the ground in prayer and her spirit is taken by God.
The execution of the martyrs finally takes place as intended—San Gennaro touches his neck, imploring the executioner to strike the final blow, resulting in one of his fingers being sliced off along with his head. Shortly after, San Gennaro appears to the elderly man with the orarium he wore during execution. The executioners mockingly ask the elderly man if the saint kept his promise and are taken aback when he shows them the garment. Concurrently with the martyrdom, Timothy begins to suffer greatly, feeling himself culpable for the persecution, and understanding his punishment was received from the Christian God. This suffering eventually leads to his death.
The bodies of the martyrs are guarded by the pious in Pozzuoli’s volcanic crater, where San Gennaro appears to one of the Christians on duty and requests his severed finger be reunited with his body. Later, a church was founded on this site, at present day represented by Il santuario di San Gennaro alla Solfatara constructed on the site of early structures in the 16th century. The volcanic crater is also potentially significant as San Gennaro’s legacy goes on to be inextricably tied to Mount Vesuvius.
CULT
Like many saints, the relics of San Gennaro were subject to several transfers over the centuries. Cardinal Oliviero Carafa was responsible for the final translation of San Gennaro’s remaining relics to the cathedral in January 1497. Carafa built a chapel beneath the altar of the cathedral between this date and 1506, known as the Succorpo, to house the relics and serve as his funerary chapel, signaling his identification with the saint and concreting the importance of both as protectors of the city. [2]
In the mid-1520s, Naples was on the verge of catastrophe—plague, war, and volcanic activity all gravely threatened the city. The Neapolitans appealed to their protector saints, chief among them San Gennaro. At this time, money was raised to build the Treasury Chapel on the ground level of the cathedral. The Treasury Chapel houses the reliquaries of San Gennaro, as well as the other patron saints of Naples. This includes his reliquary bust containing skull fragments and two ampoules containing his blood. The relics are used to perform a miracle—the blood is liquified when the two relics are brought together. Though the precise date of the first occurrence is subject to some dispute, its first recorded instance was in 1389. [2] The ritual takes place at the main altar of the church. In the front rows, parenti, elderly women said to be descendants of Eusebia, the nurse who collected the saint’s blood, chant and invoke the blood to return to its liquid form. [3]
At present day, the liquefaction ritual is performed three times annually, including the saint’s feast day on 19 September, the Saturday preceding the first Sunday of May, and 16 December. Previously, this ritual was performed up to 18 times per year, especially in times of turmoil. It has also been reported that a block of basalt in Pozzuoli, said to bear traces of the saints blood, briefly becomes a vivid, bright red in May and September concurrent with the miracle’s occurrence in Naples. [4]
ICONOGRAPHY & DEPICTIONS IN ART
San Gennaro is depicted in his bishop’s garb, including a mitre and crosier. His primary attributes are two ampoules of blood, his own relic. As his recognition grew after the transfer of his relics to the Naples cathedral by Cardinal Carafa in 1497 and crises in the 1520s, many works date from the early modern era. Below is a brief selection of depictions of the saint, arranged in chronological order:
Mastro Étienne, Godefroy, Milet d’Auxerre, Guillaume de Verdelay and Milet d’Auxerre, Reliquary bust of San Gennaro (1305), Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro, Naple
The 1305 reliquary bust, commissioned by King Charles II to mark the millennium anniversary of his martyrdom, depicts the saint in gilt silver, encrusted with precious stones. The fine materials set San Gennaro apart from other patron saints in the chapel whose reliquaries are made of plain silver with less ornamentation. This positions San Gennaro as chiefly important among the city’s numerous patron saints. [5] The saint is depicted in ecclesiastical garb, though he wears a zuchetto instead of a mitre. (Though the bust is often clothed in a mitre and cope.) The front panel of the pedestal is a relief depicting the saint being beheaded, reflecting accounts of his martyrdom and directly connecting the contained relics with hagiography. Though reliquary busts are common, this is credited as the first of its kind. [3]
Part of the decorative program of the chapel dedicated to San Gennaro was carried out in a series of frescoes by Domenico Zampieri, occupying the lunettes under the dome. These scenes do not depict the life or martyrdom of the saint, but rather contemporary and very direct interventions on behalf of the people of Naples. One shows San Gennaro fending off Saracen (arabic muslim) invaders, while in the other he stops the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We see Castel Nuovo and Mount Vesuvius, providing realistic geographical context, the latter which could be arguably considered an attribute of the saint for its iconographical importance.
In both works seen here, he occupies the top of the fresco, near the apex of the arch of the lunette, flying above large numbers of struggling Neapolitans. He wears his bishop’s mitre and ecclesiastical garments, intricate drapery fluttering auspiciously above the chaos. Depicting traumatic events in recent history would have had a powerful impact upon viewers who knew well of them, or perhaps even witnessed them. The profusion of figures in the frescoes connects the saint with the larger population of Naples, helping to secure his place as the patron saint of the city. As the chapel was funded by both the church and the secular Deputation, cooperation by church and state to effectively wield power over and maintain morale among the wider population in times of crisis is underlined. [5]
Commissioned for the cathedral in Pozzuoli, site of San Gennaro’s martyrdom, Gentileschi’s painting faithfully depicts the scene from the Flavian amphitheater where the saint and other Christians were condemned to death by wild animals. The animals appear docile at the feet of the saint, the central figure in the painting, clad in his typical ecclesiastical vestments as the crowd looks on from the arches of the amphitheater. Flanking the saint are likely Festus and Desiderius, fellow clergymen persecuted alongside him. His right hand makes a gesture, ICXC (Christ’s initials) to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, showing he was in prayer as the event occurred. [6] As this scene is before his martyrdom and subsequent canonization, San Gennaro appears still as his mortal self.
Eruption of Vesuvius of 1631, painted by Domenic Gargiulo roughly a few decades after the deadly incident, is another illustration of the ritual surrounding the cult of San Gennaro during a historical event in the early modern era, also depicting the saint. In the foreground, a large crowd gathers around a procession of the saint’s relics while the volcano erupts violently in the background. Floating between nature and civilization, San Gennaro appears on a cloud flanked by putti. He raises both his hands toward the cloud of ash, as the sun breaks through the dense atmosphere behind him. Here the saint is again clad in his typical bishop’s attire. This scene provides further evidence of San Gennaro’s importance as a protector of the city of Naples in times of crisis, specifically the use of relics in procession to summon the intervention of the saint.
Francesco Solimena depicts San Gennaro with the two ampoules of blood resting on top of a book, clad as usual in the vestments of a bishop, with his right hand raised in a gesture to indicate speech. [6] Here the saint looks youthful, with carefully rendered luxurious garments. The style of the painting follows portraiture conventions of the Baroque era, with a dark background from which the dramatically lit subject emerges, relying on the ampoules of blood to identify the saint. Behind him, two ambiguously angelic figures hold his crosier and gaze upwards at it. The sumptuous nature of this painting reflects the decorative program of the Treasury Chapel and the high esteem of Naples’ patron saint. In comparison with the reliquary bust of 1305, here San Gennaro wears a lively and vital expression. This perhaps indicates Naples’ shift into a more calm and prosperous epoch in the 18th century when compared with earlier depictions focusing on the saint’s protective role.
Depictions of San Gennaro underline his strong connection to the Campania region, specifically the city of Naples. During early modern times, unrest and natural disasters in the then-kingdom created a need for dedicated divine protection. The pictorial program employed by artists at the time, under patronage of both church and lay figures, such as Cardinal Caraffa, served to reinforce this role. Depicting San Gennaro in ecclesiastical garb underlines the protective power of the church, connecting a martyr born much earlier in the later third century to contemporary clergy.
While hagiographically there is little told about his actions prior to martyrdom, unlike other saints to whom miracles are attributed during their lives, San Gennaro is notable for his enduring posthumous legacy. To the present day, San Gennaro has remained the primary patron saint of Naples. The rich splendor of the decorative program of Treasury Chapel underlines his importance—this architecture dedicated to housing the relics of the saint literally and figuratively cement his place in the geographical and spiritual landscape of the city.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE SAINT PACHOMIUS ORTHODOX LIBRARY, ACTS OF THE HIEROMARTYR, JANUARIUS, BISHOP OF BENEVENTO, Translated by Edward P. Graham, 1909
Hills, Helen. (2010). The Neapolitan Seggi as Patrons of Architecture in Baroque Naples.
Capella San Gennaro (2019).
https://www.cappellasangennaro.it/en/the-chapel/
Thurston, H. (1910). St. Januarius. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 2, 2022 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08295a.htm
Hills, H. (2012). Beyond Mere Containment: The Neapolitan Treasury Chapel of San Gennaro and the Matter of Materials. California Italian studies, 3.
Trinity Iconography Institute. (2019, November 17). Chironomia (the language of gesture). Trinity Iconography Institute. Retrieved January 26, 2022, from http://www.trinityiconographers.org/chironomia-the-language-of-gesture/