Caravaggio Itinerary in Naples

A tour dedicated to Caravaggio is an intense experience: you move through different parts of the city, stepping into the places where art became a testament to light and shadow, to humanity and tension, as if the city itself were a canvas.

• Pio Monte della Misericordia – The Seven Works of Mercy

In the heart of the historic centre, this small church houses one of the master’s most powerful paintings. Here, Caravaggio brings together all seven Works of Mercy within a single grand scene, creating a composition that intertwines gesture and spirituality with striking realism.

• Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte – The Flagellation of Christ

Moving up towards the hill of Capodimonte, this Caravaggesque masterpiece depicts the body of Christ at the moment of the Passion, illuminated by a dramatic light that seems to emerge literally from the darkness, in a dialogue of form and movement that is truly unique.
Here, discovery does not end with Caravaggio. The museum houses one of the most important collections of Caravaggesque painters in Italy—artists influenced by his stylistic revolution, such as Battistello Caracciolo, Jusepe de Ribera, and Mattia Preti—offering a comprehensive insight into the legacy the master left in Naples.

• Gallerie d’Italia – The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula

In the heart of Via Toledo, the last painting created by Caravaggio shortly before leaving Naples recounts the intensity of a Christian drama with an emotional and narrative tension that transcends conventional iconography.

For those wishing to explore further, the traces of Caravaggio multiply across the city. Simply follow the works of the Caravaggeschi—his artistic heirs—scattered throughout the historic centre. At San Lorenzo Maggiore, visitors can admire paintings by Battistello Caracciolo, the first Neapolitan interpreter of the Caravaggesque style.

In the Church of Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, alongside Renaissance masterpieces, you will find works by Ribera, while at the Pio Monte della Misericordia—beside the master’s canvas—paintings by Luca Giordano and Andrea Vaccaro reinterpret Caravaggio’s drama and light through a distinctively Neapolitan sensibility.

In Naples, the language of Caravaggio has never faded: it has taken root in its narrow streets, its churches, and in the painting tradition that flourished from there.

This itinerary takes you deep into Caravaggio’s Naples: from the alleyways of the historic centre to the collection of the Real Bosco di Capodimonte, it is a journey through spaces, narratives and atmospheres that only art can convey with such power. It is a story of reality and vision, of contrasts and humanity, woven into the city’s streets, squares and ancient palaces.

More than a simple itinerary, this xperience leaves behind a trace of light: the light that Caravaggio captured in the faces, gestures and bodies of saints and men—and which still illuminates Naples today with its revolutionary force.