Naples, the cell of San Tommaso d’Aquino is back in the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore
Opens to the public in a new splendor there Cell of San Tommaso d’Aquino in the Complex of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, thanks to the restoration project and enhanced by the Friends of Naples Onlus association together with Giuseppe, Giulia and Gabriella d’Aquino di Caramanico and the Sansevero Chapel Museum with the collaboration of the friars of the Convent of San Domenico Maggiore and the Municipality of Naples.
Visitors, from Sunday 17 October, will be able to admire the renewed beauty of the basilica where St. Thomas Aquinas lived for about two years, and where the relics and relics of the saint are currently kept.
The works, with careful analysis and evaluation and under the High Supervision of the Superintendence for Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Naples, the Historical and Artistic Heritage of Naples, have given the environment a new light and fruition: from modernization of the lighting system, the restoration of the entrance door and the painting by Francesco Solimena representing the Saint, and the recovery of the ancient gilded frames and wooden parts and the creation of new display panels. The music written and composed by St. Thomas himself will host the visitors in the Cell.
Presenting the project at the press conference in San Domenico Maggiore, Friday 15 October, the following took part: Br. Francesco Maria Ricci, OP Prior Provincial of the Friars Preachers Southern Italy, Dr. Barbara Balbi, SABAP Restoration Officer for the Municipality of Naples, Dr. Rosa Romano, Head of SABAP Press Office for the Municipality of Naples and art historian, together to eng. Giuseppe d’Aquino di Caramanico and the arch. Alberto Sifola President Amici di Napoli Onlus.
The Complex of San Domenico Maggiore is one of the most important monuments of the Neapolitan historic center. Thomas Aquinas also lived and taught here, one of the most important thinkers in Western history, one of the main theological and philosophical pillars of the Catholic Church and a point of connection between Christianity and classical philosophy.
Since 2019 the site has been to the attention of the Amici di Napoli Onlus Association; the work project with the recovery interventions, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, were started in May 2020 and have just ended: the lighting system, with the collaboration of the lighting experts of Studio Light, has been replaced and adapted to current technological standards, improving the use of the environment in order to enhance the works of art and relics inside the Cell; the painting of San Tommaso d’Aquino by Francesco Solimena has rediscovered its colors thanks to the restorer Karin Tortora and the contribution of Matilde Giliberti Lauro Grotto d’Aquino; the access door to the Cell has been restored and repainted with the ancient technique of fake wood by Ernesto Signorelli and thanks to the generosity of Merribel Ayres; cleaning interventions involved the ancient gilding that decorate the niche containing the humerus of the Saint thanks to the work of the artisan Giovanni Buonocore; the Euromediterranea Mobili and Sorrentino firms contributed to the restoration of the wooden parts. For a new and in-depth use of the site, exhibition panels have been designed, with text in Italian and English, accompanied by photographs that tell the vicissitudes of the relics of St. Thomas, created thanks to the contribution of the artisans Domenico Minini and Sansone Sicurezza, by Ippolito Tessuti. and SIE Impianti.
The interventions carried out are the result of a virtuous collaboration between public and private operators united by the intention of taking care of and enhancing the immense historical and artistic heritage of Naples.
The inauguration ceremony of the Cell will be held on Saturday 16 October and will be broadcast live on the Friends of Naples Onlus Instagram channel.
The program includes a “Conversation on Saint Thomas Aquinas” at 5.00 pm with Professor Giovanni Ventimiglia, Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Lucerne, considered one of the greatest scholars in the world of the Saint’s thought and life. Following, at 18.00, the Holy Mass officiated for the occasion by HE the Archbishop of Naples Domenico Battaglia.
The Cell of San Tommaso will be open to visitors in the Doma museum circuit, every day from Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00.
By presenting the entrance ticket to the Sansevero Chapel Museum, you will benefit from a discount on the purchase of the full Doma Museum ticket, until 10 January 2022.
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Friends of Naples is a non-profit association founded in May 2018 by the will of a group of professionals and friends deeply linked to Naples, to promote the restoration and conservation of the artistic heritage of the city and its priceless cultural heritage. The association works daily with Superintendencies, Institutions, Archives, Museums, Institutes of Fine Arts, Academies and Universities, activating good practices of collaboration between public and private.