The Church of San Gennaro at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte has reopened to the public after 50 years, and it promises to be quite the unusual experience.  Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has inserted (a lot of) contemporary into Naples’ Baroque soul - as Italy’s Culture Minister Dario Franceschini put it, “The restoration of the Church of San Gennaro is an extraordinary experiment that mixes contemporary and Baroque art in an unprecedented way.”

Overlooking the Gulf of Naples, the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte was once one of the several residences of the Bourbon kings of Naples. Calatrava’s work on the Church of San Gennaro, built in 1745 by the architect Ferdinando Sanfelice for Charles of Bourbon, is a tribute to the 'light of Naples' and to the local craftsmanship.