Chiesa San Giovanni a Carbonara

Lonely Planet review

This fabulous Gothic cluster comprises a church, a chapel and a cloister, fronted by an 18th-century double-flight staircase by stair-meister Ferdinando Sanfelice. While the chapel is currently closed, the wooden-beamed church is a treasure-trove of stunning marble sculpture.

Standing at 18m behind the main altar, the colossal monument to King Ladislas (built in 1428) is a sublime mix of Renaissance and Gothic styles.

Other important works include the Crocifisso (Crucifixion; 1545) by Giorgio Vasari, the early 16th-century Monumento Miroballo by Tommaso Malvito and Jacopo dell Pila, and the Cappella Caracciole del Sole with its vintage majolica-tiled floor and colourful 15th-century frescoes. In this beautiful round chapel you'll also find the tomb of Gianni Caracciolo, the ambitious lover of King Ladislas' sister Queen Joan II of Naples. Caracciolo's increasing political power led the queen to plot his demise and in 1432 he was stabbed to death in the Castel Capuano. The tomb is the work of Leonardo da Besozzo.