Cloisters of Santa Chiara

The cloisters are within the Franciscan citadel, near the Piazza del Gesu'.

The citadel of Santa Chiara, with its church and monastery, were some of the first in Naples. During the period 1740/69 the Gothic style monastery was renovated. Baroque styling inside and the beginning of the change of the nun's cloisters to have octagonal pillars with majolica seats. The seats and pillars are covered with blue, green and yellow tiles.

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Clloisters of Santa Chiara - there are 64 octagonal pillars, decorated with tiles.

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It is very pleasant, and the yellow and green colours of the tiles mirror the colours of its environment: blue for the sky, yellow for the lemon trees and and green of the gardens.

The church itself was bombed in World War II, part of a bomb shell has been retained and is seen in one of the walkways. Everything wooden was burned. Reconstruction lasted ten years and the church re-opened in 1953.

The cloisters were restored during 1986 and 2001.

The cloisters were built in 1740 at the request of Queen Maria Amalia di Sassonia, the wife of Carlo III di Borbone. There are 64 octagonal pillars and they represent vines, oranges, lemons and other other fruits. There used to be a wood structure ontop of the octogonal pillars which was pained in the same colours. The wooden structure was lost in the 1800s.

Along the main walkways there are benches, also covered in tiles. They depict various scenes of life outside the monastery.

The walls of the covered walkways along the sides of the cloisters are covered with frescoes that date from the early 1600s.