Photo: MentNFG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Complesso delle basiliche paleocristiane di Cimitile

Complex of early Christian basilicas and chapels linked to the cult of San Felice and Paulinus of Nola, with a museum of archaeological finds.

Ask the museum for opening hoursAdmission €4

Directions

About the museum

The Cimitile complex brings together several places of worship dedicated to Felice, Stefano, Tommaso, Calionio, Giovanni, the Martyrs and the Madonna degli Angeli. The oldest buildings date from the 4th century, and the period of greatest splendour ran from the late 4th to the early 5th century, when the nobleman Paulinus withdrew here as a monk; he later became bishop of Nola around 409.

A disastrous flood in the first half of the 6th century damaged the sanctuary, which recovered and remained a place of pilgrimage. In 1599 the basilica of San Felice passed under the chapter of the Nola cathedral and regained its autonomy in 1675; at the beginning of the 18th century the eastern part was demolished to build a new parish church. After the neglect of the 19th century, excavations and restorations were carried out by the architect Gino Chierici between 1933 and 1960, and resumed after 1988.

Among the buildings, the basilica of San Felice (Basilica Vetus) with its 12th–13th-century bell tower stands out, together with the basilica nova built by Paulinus around 401–403, the 5th-century basilica of Santo Stefano and the basilica of San Tommaso, with 84 tombs and 14th-century depictions of saints. Next to the chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a museum houses numerous archaeological finds.

Highlights

Basilica of San Felice (Basilica Vetus)
Basilica nova of Paulinus of Nola
Basilica of San Tommaso with 84 tombs
Chapels of the Santi Martiri and San Calionio
Museum with archaeological finds

Permanent exhibition

Basiliche e antiquarium – Route through the early Christian basilicas and chapels, and visit to the museum with finds from the Osco-Samnite period.

Visitors per year: approx. 11,992