Dante Square, the Largo Mercatello

About this activity

One of the most important squares in Naples, located in the historic center, is Dante Square. A crossroads between history and modern times, this square connects the hillside neighborhoods at the beginning of Toledo Street, being located just at one end even of the decumanus Major i.e., Via dei Tribunali. It is joined to the latter through the majestic Old City Gate: Port'Alba. In the middle of the square, stands imperious the statue of the great poet Dante Alighieri, surrounded by three monumental churches overlooking it: the Church of St. Mary of Caravaggio, the Church of St. Dominic Soriano, and the Church of St. Michael in Port Alba.

Why visit Dante Square

Once located outside the city walls, Piazza Dante is now one of the main squares in downtown Naples. Also known by all for the presence of the subway station, it is the main hub of Neapolitan life. Around its space stand, stores, churches, bars, theaters and all kinds of street food as well as the historic and famous: bookshelves street Port'Alba. This space dedicated to reading lovers is accessed by passing through a majestic doorway that also marks the passageway on the main decumanus of the downtown of Naples. The entrance to Port'Alba, was built to connect, in fact the outside of the city (where Piazza Dante stands today) and the inside, bounded at the time, by the presence of the mighty Angevin walls. The work was entrusted to architect P. Lauria, and was decorated with three coats of arms: one of King Philip III, one of the city of Naples and one of Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo, who initiated the work. Various frescoes by Mattia Preti, decorated its surface. These included those of the Virgin with St. Gennaro and St. Gaetano, and the statue of St. Gaetano from 1781. Today, walking through the gate and down via port'Alba, one reaches one of the centers of the nightlife Neapolitan: Piazza Bellini.

Dante and other wonders

Dante Square possesses a peculiar hemicycle shape that was given to it by Luigi Vanvitelli, at the behest of King Charles III of Bourbon. On the balustrade of the hemicycle, there are in fact twenty-six statues representing the virtues of the king.

In the center of the square, stands the Statue of the greatest poet on which stands a Fascist-era dedication that reads : "To Italy depicted in Dante Alighieri."

On the other side of the square, however, stands the silhouette of Palazzo Ruffo di Bagnara, a historic palace and an example of Neapolitan Baroque. The original building was attacked and destroyed in the 1600s by Masaniello's Lazzari, who sacked it before setting it on fire. Later, however, Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo di Bagnara bought the ruins and had the palace rebuilt.

Finally, on the widening of the square stand no less than four monumental churches: that of the Immaculate Conception of the Health Workers, St. Mary of Caravaggio (former school for poor children), St. Dominic Soriano, and St. Michael in Port'Alba (which preserves frescoes and paintings from the 1700s inside).

The most important things to know about Dante Square

Today all kinds of events are often organized in Dante Square: from tasty fairs in honor of the typical excellence of our territory, to important initiatives such as the "bookMob" which involves the exchange of themed books, to musical events, sports events and many others. The large space of the square is pedestrianized as well as the adjoining Via Port'Alba. The street the square overlooks instead, which corresponds to the beginning of Via Toledo, is a ZTL (limited traffic zone).

Historical background and interesting facts about Dante Square

In ancient times the square was called Largo del Mercatello. This name was due to the fact that in the space that today corresponds to the beautiful square, one of the city's two markets, the mercatello, was held, as opposed to the other , larger and older Market Square. In 1625, Port'Alba was erected. Before its construction, a squat breach in the squat wall was the only access to facilitate communications with the boroughs.

The square took on its present structure in the second half of the 18th century, thanks to architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who, commissioned by King Charles III of Bourbon, built the monumental "Foro Carolino." Work began in 1757 and was finished eight years later, giving the square its current conformation in the form of a hemicycle. Behind the Angevin walls, the square stood right next to the Church of St. Michael to the east. The structure, adorned at the top by the twenty-six statues representing the virtues of Charles, was supposed to house, in the central niche, the equestrian statue of the sovereign, which, however, was never built, as well as a clock tower. Since 1843, however, the central niche has constituted the entrance to the Jesuit boarding school, which became the Vittorio Emanuele II National Boarding School in 1861, housed in the premises of the former convent of San Sebastiano. Of this the two cloisters are still visible, of which the smaller, older one is in Gothic-Romanesque style, while the larger one retains its 16th-century structure.

A large statue of Dante Alighieri stands in the center of the square. This was erected by sculptors Tito Angelini and Tommaso Solari, and inaugurated on July 13, 1871, the day the square was in fact named Piazza Dante.

Also located on the opposite side of the hemicycle are the convents of Santa Maria di Caravaggio and San Domenico Soriano. The former was the seat of the institute for the visually impaired founded by Domenico Martuscelli, a bust of whom can be seen inside the square's small gardens. Later the structure became the seat of the Second Municipality of Naples. The second convent, on the other hand, is currently used as the municipal registry offices.

In addition to the aforementioned Palazzo Ruffo di Bagnara, on the left side of Port Alba is another historic building in Naples: Palazzo Rinuccini.

After the construction of the Dante Metro Station, the hemicycle of the square was totally pedestrianized, while in 2011, access to the street near the square was for the exclusive use of public transportation. Finally since 2013, the traffic closure has been reduced every day but only from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the establishment of the ZTL.

Piazza Dante appears in the lyrics of one of the famous songs of Neapolitan culture, Edoardo Nicolardi's "Tammurriata nera." The lyrics quote thus, "Aieressera a Piazza Dante 'o stommaco mio era vacante, si nun era p'o contrabbando, ì mò già stevo 'o campusanto" (Last night in Piazza Dante I had an empty belly, if there had been no contraband I would have already gone to the cemetery).