Chiesa di Santa Margherita Nuova
Procida (NA)
Hidden gemSacred art
The story
Built in the sixteenth century by Dominicans fleeing the Saracens, in the freezing winter of 1956 it collapsed in on itself when the great arches holding it up gave way. Only partly restored, it remains a shell hanging over the Corricella.
Access
Free from the outside and from the belvedere. The convent below is in ruins and NOT open to visitors
The story
The church of Santa Margherita Nuova stands on the tip of Terra Murata, at Procida, sheer above the sea. The Dominican monks built it in 1586, moving here from the ancient monastery of Santa Margherita Vecchia at the Chiaiolella to escape the pirate raids. Its arches, on the cliff of the Punta dei Monaci, are one of the most evocative profiles of the island.
What to see
The Baroque church, with the marble altar, and the remains of the Dominican convent facing the abyss. In 1956 the collapse of the great arches gravely damaged the complex; the church was restored in 2012, while the lower spaces, with the cisterns, still await recovery.
How to get there
- Hydrofoil
- Ferry
Tips
The church is at Terra Murata, in a spectacular position over the sea; its visitability and hours depend on the state of the complex, partly still to be restored: check on site or on the official channels. You are in the upper village of Procida, to be combined with the Abbey of San Michele and the belvederes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Santa Margherita Nuova?
A church with a former Dominican convent of 1586 on the tip of Terra Murata, at Procida, sheer above the sea: one of the most evocative profiles of the island.
What happened in 1956?
The collapse of the great arches that supported the complex gravely damaged the church and convent; the church was restored in 2012, the convent below is still to be recovered.
Where is it?
At Terra Murata, on the Punta dei Monaci, in the upper village of Procida.
More gems in Procida
VillagesMarina Corricella
Procida
The oldest fishermen's borgo (old village) on Procida, an amphitheatre of pastel houses tumbling down to the harbour, where the boats sleep beneath the hanging laundry.
Sacred artTerra Murata
Procida
The ancient core of Procida climbs the yellow tufo (volcanic tuff) headland, between defensive walls and narrow alleys, suspended between the little harbour of Corricella and the horizon of the bay.
Sacred artAbbazia di San Michele
Procida
Behind the walls of Terra Murata, the abbey dedicated to its patron Michael guards paintings, an antique presepe (nativity scene) and catacombe carved into the tufo, its vault turned towards the sea.
- ◆ Views & panoramas
Belvedere Elsa Morante e dei Cannoni
Procida
From the terrace named after Elsa Morante, among old cannons trained on the bay, the view opens onto the Corricella and its pastel houses heaped upon the water.
- Free beaches
Spiaggia del Pozzo Vecchio ("del Postino")
Procida
The dark-sand beach where Massimo Troisi filmed Il Postino, tucked below the cemetery and the tufo walls, with shallow water and the stillness of a film set never struck.
- Free beaches
Spiagge di Chiaia
Procida
A long stairway leads down to it: a broad stretch of sand and shingle sheltered by high tufo walls, with the fishing boats of the Corricella colouring the background.
More gems: Sacred art
Sacred artCappella Sansevero (Cristo Velato)
Napoli (NA)
Beneath a veil of marble that still seems to breathe, Sanmartino's Cristo Velato rests in the chapel's half-light, and the whiteness of the stone deceives every eye.
Sacred artDuomo di Napoli
Napoli
Three times a year the city holds its breath as the blood of San Gennaro waits to liquefy, among Gothic naves and the gold of the chapel devoted to him.
Sacred artCappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro
Napoli
Behind a bronze gate lie silverware, gems and the jewel-studded mitre of the saint: a treasure heaped up over centuries by the devotion of Naples.
Sacred artChiesa del Gesù Nuovo
Napoli
The facade of pyramid-cut piperno stone hides symbols carved into the blocks, while inside the Baroque bursts out in marble and in the memory of the physician Giuseppe Moscati.
Sacred artChiostro di Santa Chiara
Napoli
A garden of pillars clad in yellow and blue majolica, where lemon pergolas and eighteenth-century scenes painted on the tiles keep the noise of the city at bay.
Sacred artSanta Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco
Via Tribunali 39
Bronze skulls stand guard at the entrance, and down in the hypogeum the cult of the anime pezzentelle (adopted souls of the dead) still leaves flowers and prayers beside abandoned crania.