Church of the SS. Annunziata

The Church of the SS.Annunziata, together with the Arechi Castle and Porta Nova is one of the top of the geographical triangle, which describes the plant of historical Salerno. It is located, in fact, at the end of Via Portacatena, to remind us of the enlivened way go of people who once flocked out of the city gate, today destroyed.

On the origins of this church it is known that two donations of Queen Margherita of Durazzo were destined to it, in 1404 and 1412.

Since the 16th century, his clergy received grants for the assistance and administration of the sick in the nearby hospital St. John of God. In 1614, when the management of the hospital passed to the religious of the Order of St. John of God, the clergy of the Annunciation remained only the task of religious and spiritual assistance.

In its history the church underwent various reconstructions following natural disasters. Renovated completely in the middle of the 19th century, the church was submerged by a mud avalanche and debris during the flood of 1954, and again subjected to a three-year restoration, which furnished it with marbles, stuccos and decorations on the vault and side chapels.

Today the church, with a longitudinal plan with a presbytery covered by a dome, shows a strong 18th century style. Inside it we find various testimonies of famous Neapolitan artists. Filippo and Giovanni Ragozzino with Matteo Bottigliero are authors, for example, of the main altar at the bottom of the unique nave, splendid example of baroque sculpture with polychrome decorations. Also worth mentioning are the furnishings and entrance door inlaid wood of the sacristy, executed in 1712 by the axe master Saviotto, and the wooden organ of 1880 in neo-Gothic style, placed in counterfacade.

Ferdinando Sanfelice, on the other hand, has the exterior view of an elegant four-order bell tower, completed by a pinnacle cusp, connected by volutes. The project of the work, completed between 1707 and 1737, is preserved at the Drawings and Stamps Cabinet of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples.

The dome of the Church has recently been decorated with beautiful majolica, which further enhance the monument.