A little Sistine in the heart of Naples: a journey among Vasari’s stars

Forget for a moment the vibrant buzz of Spaccanapoli and let yourself be guided towards Piazza Monteoliveto. Here, hidden behind an austere façade, lies one of the city’s most precious secrets: the Old Sacristy of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, a place where time seems to have stopped in 1545.

As soon as you cross the threshold of the former Olivetan Refectory, your gaze will be irresistibly drawn upwards. It is not just a ceiling above you, but a true unfurled celestial sphere, a masterpiece that has earned this room the title of the Neapolitan "Little Sistine Chapel".

It was here that Giorgio Vasari, the celebrated artist and biographer from Arezzo who arrived in Naples in 1544, accepted a seemingly impossible challenge: to transform a dark and narrow medieval space into a triumph of light and abyss, much like the city that hosted him.

Prepare for a dizzying visual experience. Vasari did not merely paint; he reshaped the space with stucco and colour, creating a cycle of frescoes that is a hymn to Renaissance harmony. The vault is divided into three great bays, each a chapter in a spiritual story: Religion, Eternity, and Faith.

But the magic lies in the details. Sharpen your eyes and search for the 48 Ptolemaic constellations that dot the ceiling, interwoven with refined grotesques and allegories of the Virtues. It is a universe in motion, inspired by the greatness of Michelangelo, whom Vasari revered and whose powerful echo resonates here, blending wisdom and elegance in a silent dialogue above your heads.

As your eyes descend from the frescoed sky, another masterpiece will claim your attention: the wooden stalls by Fra' Giovanni da Verona. These are not simple furnishings, but open windows onto imaginary worlds. Let yourself be amazed by the play of wooden intarsia (inlay): thanks to a masterful use of perspective and light-and-dark woods, you will see glimpses of landscapes, three-dimensional urban architecture, and mock cupboards with half-open doors that will invite you, almost by instinct, to peek inside.

Visiting the Vasari Sacristy means immersing yourself in that Napoli Cultura which knows how to be learned, refined, and surprising. It is a place of sublime contrasts, where wood speaks to fresco, geometry to emotion, history to eternity.

In this treasure chest of art, Naples reveals its most sophisticated soul: an invitation to slow down, look up, and lose yourself in the beauty of the stars, right in the centre of the city.