Gesù Nuovo

Gesù Nuovo is a prominent church in central Naples, Italy, located on the Piazza del Gesù Nuovo. The building preserves a distinctive diamond-point ashlar façade originally belonging to a 15th-century palace.

The striking rough-hewn diamond façade contrasts with an ornate Baroque interior that contains decorated chapels and fresco cycles by Neapolitan artists. The church is a stop on walking routes through the historic centre, near other major sights such as Spaccanapoli and Santa Chiara.

Originally built as a palace in the 15th century, the structure was converted into a Jesuit church in the late 16th century; the conversion kept the unusual façade while the interior was redeveloped in the Baroque period. Over subsequent centuries the church accumulated artworks and chapels from prominent local artists.

Situated in Naples’ historic centre on Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, the church is within the dense medieval street grid and is easily reached on foot from many central locations.

• Facade detail: The exterior is notable for its unusual diamond-point stonework, a remnant of the original palace that predates the church conversion.

What to See #

• Piazza del Gesù Nuovo: Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, the city square in front of the church that forms a hub of the historic centre and links to Spaccanapoli and other central streets.
• Diamond-point façade: The diamond-point rusticated façade, a 15th-century palace surface of ashlar blocks that was retained when the building was converted to a church.
• Baroque interior and chapels: The Baroque interior with multiple decorated chapels and fresco cycles by Neapolitan artists from the 17th and 18th centuries.