The Charterhouse, dedicated to San Martino (Saint Martin), had been built by the Angevins under the guidance of the architect and sculptor Tino da Camaino, but it was deeply changed during the Spanish Viceroyalty and it became one of the most representative building of Neapolitan Baroque. They called for leading the works the Lombard architect Cosimo Fanzago, who became the chief protagonist of Baroque in Naples and who had been leading for more than 30 years the radical transformation of the palace, starting from the new facade and the sculpture decorations of the chapels, up to the rearrangement of the Large Cloister. They kept on doing the job also during the 18th century, following his working plan and concluding in two centuries an extraordinary overlapping of interventions.

The interiors of the Charterhouse host the National Museum, with some important collections of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, cartographic maps, handmade works, ships models, art glasses, porcelains and an interesting section for the Manger Scenes (Christmas Crib, a traditional art of craftsmen in Naples). The most prestigious work in the Museum is probably the renowned Tavola Strozzi (Strozzi's Board) which is the first known depiction of Naples and belongs to the 14th century. But there is also a rich and important gallery of Neapolitan Ottocento (19th c.).  [ More...]