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Chiesa Santa Maria Incoronata
The beautiful Gothic arches of the Chiesa Santa Maria Incoronata date to the mid-14th century. Situated on the sunken site that Charles I of Anjou had earmarked for his planned Castel Nuovo, the church was built on the wishes of Giovanna of Anjou, who wanted somewhere to conserve a fragment of her most precious relic - Jesus' crown of thorns.
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Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore
The full title of this church, Santa Maria Maggiore alla Pietrasanta, is a reference to a 17th-century practice of kissing the church's pietrasanta (holy stone) to gain indulgences. Dating to the 6th century, the church was originally built by San Pomponio, the Bishop of Naples. According to legend, he did so to appease worried locals, who reported sightings of the devil in the form of a pig on the site.
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La Nunziatella
A hulking red heap perched high above Chiaia, the convent of Nunziatella is home to the sharp, preened cadets of Italy's prestigious Royal Military Academy of the Nunziatella.
Built in 1588, the convent was donated to the Jesuits by its benefactor, noblewoman Anna Mendozza Marchesana della Valle. It was used as a novitiate until the Jesuits were kicked out of town in the mid-18th century.
