The Gesu Church in Naples: the Mystery of the Musical Facade

Steps away from Naples’ Gothic Church of Santa Chiara…..…..

……the Baroque Gesu’ Nuovo church sits in solemn splendor on the Piazza Gesu’ Nuovo.

The “New Jesus” church (the name deliberately distinguishes it from a pre-existing Naples Gesu’ church, called “Gesu Vecchio“) was built on the site of the 15th-century palace of the powerful Prince of Salerno, Roberto Sanseverino.

Under Roberto’s son, Ferrante Sanseverino and Ferrante’s wife, Isabella Villamarina…

…..the massive palace was renowned for the extent of its gardens and the elegance of its frescoed interior, synthesizing the union of the Neapolitan Renaissance and Baroque. Pompous ceremonies were often held here and famous Neapolitan artists were frequent guests.

In Palazzo Sanseverino in 1536, Ferrante honored Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, upon the Emperor’s return from his northern African conquests.

That Palazzo Sanseverino imperial fasto (pompous, splendid celebration) was remembered for decades as a highlight-event of 16th-century Naples.

But the rebellious spirit of Ferrante Sanseverino will lead to his demise: he fled from Naples after accusations of heresy, theft and rebellion for he had seriously challenged the ruling Spanish authority.

In 1547, hee and his wife had objected to the imposition of the Spanish Inquisition in Naples mandated by Pedro de Toledo, Spanish viceroy of Carlo V.

A few years later, all of Ferrante Sanseverino’s property was confiscated and he was exiled.

In 1584, the palace was sold to the Jesuits who transformed the palazzzo into the stately Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo, leaving only the magnificent bugnato (rusticated) grey volcanic-stone facade in place. Their monogram IHS is sculpted over the door, flanked by two cherubs:

In the midst of this piperno stone, an inscribed plaque in white marble stands out:

The inscribed marble slab was placed there in 1470 by the architect, Novello da San Lucano……..…..and the inscription is a laud to himself, as we can note in this translation from the Latin: ” The eminent architect, Novello da San Lucano, erected this palazzo in 1470 with the intent of paying homage to his Lord and principal benefactor, the Prince of Salerno, rather than of receiving any recompense.”

He was, in fact, a great architect and the facade of the volcanic piperanno stones, each cut as punta di diamante (a diamond point), creates an interplay of light and shadow endowing the palazzo facade with grandeur.

Del Luca was also a composer of Gregorian chant and in fact, on the facade of the Palazzo Sanseverino (which will become the Gesu Nuovo church) musical notes in Aramaic letters were incised, according to musicophile Professor Vincenzo Pasquale, Naples art historian, expert in the Neapolitan Renaissance:

If De Pasquale is correct, the facade actually displays “sheet music” to be read from top to bottom and right to left. The music has been played and is called “Enigma”

You can hear it here.

Other scholars agree only with the title, interpreting the facade as truly an “enigma.” Experts in the esoteric believe the symbols are related to alchemy and to esoteric practices.

Such an interpretation links the occult incisions on the masonry of the Gesu’ Nuovo facade with the energy emitted by the piperno stone, worked only by Maestri Pipernieri, Campania-region masons who skillfully sculpted this extremely hard volcanic stone, very difficult to cut and sculpt. These Maestri Pipernieri were also well-versed in esoteric mysteries shared by il maestro only with his apprentices, bound to secrecy by oaths. The secrecy of their knowledge was focal for imbuing the piperno stone with positive energy.

The sculpted musical notes are not the only “enigma” of the sculpted piperno-stone facade: the position of the stones presents another perplexing mystery. According to esoteric rituals, to attract positive energy to the palazzo and to fend off negative influences, the bugne (bulging stones) with diamond points should have been placed towards the interior of the edifice. Why were they placed in a contrary position, therefore?

The result of an error of the Maestri Pipernieri? Impossible, considering the profound knowledge of alchemy and esoteric practices of these stonemasons.

There’s the scent of a plot here: according to an age-old legend, the Maestri Pipernieri were corrupted by enemies of the Principe Sanseverino, envious of the wealth and prominence of the Sanseverino family.

And the napoletani will tell you that the legendary maledizione (literally, “telling of the bad,” i.e, “curse”) of the sculpted stones of punta diamante in reverse position struck not only the Sanseverino nobility but even the Jesuits, coming into possession of the Palazzo Severino in 1584 when King Filippo II di Spagna – reigning monarch of the Regno di Napoli (Kingdom of Naples) – sold the edifice to them at a reasonable price.
A lay residence was then be transformed into an ecclesiastical edifice under direction of Jesuit architects, Giuseppe Valeriano (also a painter) and Pietro Provedi, with dedication of the Gesu’ Nuovo church taking place in 1601.

La maledizione would strike the Jesuit church less than 20 years later: in 1767, the Gesuiti were banned from the Regno di Napoli.

As the Jesuits so strongly opposed political absolutism, the royal courts of Portugal, Spain and France in particular, had put strong pressure on the Pope, Clement XIV, to dissolve the Society of Jesus.

After four years of resisting pressure, Pope Clement XIV emitted the bull, Dominus ac Redemptor on July 21, 1773, mandating the dissolution of the Society of Jesus:

After the departure of the Jesuits from their Gesu’ Nuovo, the church passed to the Franciscans but their stay was short-lived and marked with repeated crumblings of parts of the building and fires now and then: the curse of the Sanseverino?

After a series of travails, the Jesuits returned definitively in 1900 to the Gesu Nuovo church.

Nowadays, the ex-Palazzo San Severino (Church of Gesu’ Nuovo) seems a peaceful place with any maledizione extinct.

But not its mysterious fascination.

Nor the splendor of its exterior…

….and interior: