Victory Square

About this activity

Located between the Chiaia and San Ferdinando districts, Piazza Vittoria is an important square in Naples. It owes its name to the Battle of Lepanto between the Muslim fleets of the Ottoman Empire and the Christian fleets of the Holy League. According to Christians, it was Our Lady who intervened in the outcome of the battle, so the Church of St. Mary of Victory, which overlooks the very square. In the northern part of the square you can admire the neoclassical statues of the Municipal Villa, to the south are statues of two important Italian politicians, Nicola Amore and Giovanni Nicotera. Toward the west we find the monument to the fallen at sea, better known as the broken column. The statue of Nicola Amore was originally placed in the square that bears his name between Corso Umberto I and Via Duomo, but in 1938 it was moved to remove any obstruction from the straight in anticipation of Adolf Hitler's visit to Naples. The east side of the square is connected to Via Calabritto, a famous street full of high-fashion stores. At Piazza Vittoria you can enjoy Gino Sorbillo's famous pizza or taste the flavor of the sea at Pescaria.

The Church of St. Mary of Victory

Founded around 1573 by the Carmelite Fathers, it later passed to the Fathers of Jesus through the donation of the Marquise of Polignano Anna Maria Toraldo. In 1646, at the behest of Margaret of Austria, daughter of Joan of Austria, the church was restored and remodeled by Pietro Caracciolo: the dome and the three-arched portico before the entrance were built. Because of the 1732 earthquake, further restoration was necessary. From 1775 onward the convent was used to house the Bourbon military quarter and part of the Victoria Barracks. In 1824 the facade of the church was lost and the complex was used for housing. The sacred building is decorated with Corinthian marble columns next to the pillars supporting the dome, a painting by Massimo Stanzione depicting the Annunciation, and an anonymous 17th-century work depicting the Virgin appearing to Don John of Austria during the Battle of Lepanto, commissioned by Joan of Austria in 1628.

The broken column

This monument to the fallen at sea has a very special history: the marble base had been built in 1867 in honor of the fallen in the naval battle of Lissa but was never finished. Initially it was planned to put on the marble base a statue of Admiral Francesco Caracciolo, a bust of whom can be seen that originated as a draft of the statue, in the courtyard of the University Library. The project unfortunately failed due to lack of funds so, in 1914 it was decided to place a column from the Greek Roman period from the Roman theater of Via Anticaglia, first stored in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Apparently, this column was found during excavations for the construction of the cathedral bell tower and was to be used to make an obelisk dedicated to St. Gennaro. The Theatine Fathers received it as a gift from Viceroy Don Pietro Antonio d'Aragona and attempted to use it for an obelisk dedicated to Saint Gaetano da Thiene. First it was placed next to the door of the Church of San Paolo Maggiore, then finally in the MANN from which it was later placed in Piazza Vittoria.