In Naples, a church, closed for over 40 years, reopens completely decorated in shades of blue and light blue thanks to a visionary socio-cultural project that has led it to be among the major artistic attractions of the city.

The Quartiere Sanità in Naples. A devastating beauty that has slept underground for years and now shines more and more. Via dei Cristallini has, in fact, a significant past for the city, as it was once the road that brought the rulers with their carriages to the residence of Capodimonte and was therefore dotted with splendid palaces and important artisan shops that served them, such as those of crystals, from which it takes its name.

Among its wonders, the Church of Santa Maria della Maddalena in via dei Cristallini which, after 40 years, reopened in 2023 with murals by great artists and repainted by the young people of the neighborhood. To demonstrate that beauty was already within them and it was enough to bring it out. Because art heals, gives hope and improves us.

The color blue was chosen by the inhabitants of the neighborhood, because it is the color of the sea… and of Naples football team!

The recovery of the place was possible thanks to the «Luce al Rione Sanità» project initiated by the La Paranza cooperative and financed by private individuals with the support of the San Gennaro Community Foundation which saw the young people of the neighborhood paint, with around twenty shades of blue, the interior of the church. An artistic laboratory born in collaboration with international artists such as Tono Cruz, Mono González and Giuliana Conte.

Every detail tells a powerful neighborhood story. Like the altars, in the shape of the bow of a boat, which were made with wood recovered from Lampedusa, the work of the inmates of the Secondigliano prison, or the photos of many of the well-known and unknown faces of the Rione Sanità.

The project of the Chiesa dei Cristallini marks another star in the constellation of small, big miracles that are transforming the healthcare system into one of the most visited neighborhoods of Naples, from the reopening of the Church of Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi which houses the Jago Museum to the transformation of the Cristallini Hypogeum in a museum open to the public.

The Secret

Among the faces portrayed in the Church there is also that of Pasquale Casertano, one of the symbols of the rebirth of the Rione Sanità, who opened Cristallini 78 Da Pasquale a few meters from the Blue Church.

Useful Info

Chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena ai Cristallini
Via dei Cristallini 73
80137 Napoli

Free entry, open every morning from 10am to 1pm
For guided tours: https://catacombedinapoli.it/it/eventi/bozza-automaticalux-in-fundo-napoli/