Tribunali

- Piazza Bellini, Piazza Miraglia, Piazza San Gaetano, Piazzetta Riario Sforza, Porta Capuana -

This itinerary follows the central of the three "decumani" of the Greco- Roman city, known as the "decumanus maximus" to stress its importance in the old Classical city plan. This street, which may be considered the main artery of the Old City, bears witness to the evolution of its religious and secular architecture up to the modern period. Here, as in the rest of the Old City, buildings are founded on origins which have been covered over by centuries of development. Archaeological remains lie just below the present-day street level, and evidence of them comes, for example, from the remains of dwellings in the area adjacent to the Pietrasanta Church. The principal reminder of the Greco-Roman city is the Forum area, corresponding to the present-day Piazza San Gaetano, which featured the most important public buildings, among which was the Temple of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux), now part of the basilica of San Paolo Maggiore.Surviving examples of medieval architecture include the bell-tower of Pietrasanta, the arcades of the palace of the Emperor of Constantinople and the church of San Pietro a Majella.The Renaissance period has bequeathed us the Pontano Chapel (1492), though the prevailing influence in this itinerary is Baroque and its eighteenth-century derivatives, first in the form of conversions of buildings that already existed, later with new buildings. These range from the Church of the Cross of Lucca (Croce di Lucca), through the Pietrasanta Church, the Purgatorio ad Arco, the "Guglia", or decorated obelisk, of San Gennaro, the chapel of Pio Monte della Misericordia and the complex of Santa Maria della Pace, to Sacro Monte del Banco dei Poveri institution.The church and convent of San Pietro a Majella are located along a narrow street which takes its name from them. Piazza Miraglia, which comes next, is bounded by the Church of Croce di Lucca, the only surviving part of a much larger complex which was demolished to make way for the nearby University Medical School buildings. After the junction with Via del Sole come the Pietrasanta church buildings, exemplifying the principal stages of the urban development of the "decumanus".On the right, there follows a series of the most important examples of the street's secular architecture: the Spinelli di Laurino Palace and, at no. 339, the Palace of the Emperor of Constantinople, rebuilt for Philippe de Valois in about 1360, from which period the portico, supported on lava pillars, has been preserved. Opposite are the Church of Purgatorio ad Arco and the former "Ecce Homo" congregational building, now the church of Sant'Angelo a Segno, whose façade can be seen in its neoclassical transformation.Piazza San Gaetano is dominated by the basilica of San Paolo Maggiore, built on the foundations of the Temple of Castor and Pollux of Classical times. Another important religious building is the Church of the Gerolomini, whose façade was designed by Ferdinando Fuga. After Piazza Sisto Riario Sforza, noted for its "guglia" of San Gennaro, we can see the chapel of Pio Monte della Misericordia and the Santa Maria della Pace buildings which comprise a church and a former hospital. Next is the charity institution of the Sacro Monte del Banco dei Poveri, with its own chapel, now the seat of the Historical Archives of the Bank of Naples. Opposite the far end of the Via Tribunali stands the Capuan Castle (Castel Capuano), and the square in front of it marks the end of this itinerary.