Inside the Cathedral or Duomo, the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro is decorated with Baroque frescoes and other artworks. The Feast of San Gennaro takes place on Mulberry Street (Little Italy) between Canal and Houston AND on Hester between Baxter St. and Centre St. AND Grand between Baxter St. and Centre Market Place. St. Januarius, or San Gennaro in Italian, is the patron saint of Naples. The feast day is September 19 in the Roman Catholic calendar, so the celebration usually takes place in the second half of September. The. The Feast of San Gennaro 2019 runs from September 12 through September 22. sangennaronyc.org Some of the martyr’s blood was collected by a woman, and it was taken to Naples along with San … If the blood liquefies – which it usually does – the church bells ring, and the Cardinal takes the liquefied blood through the cathedral and out into the square so everyone can see it. If you plan to visit Naples, Italy in mid-September, be sure to book your hotel well in advance. Few saints have had more cultural, social and religious impact than San Gennaro. Once the miracle takes place, twenty-one cannon shots are fired from Castel dell'Ovo. For the next 8 days the people of Naples celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro. After the ceremony, a religious procession winds through the streets of the historic center, where the roads and the shops are closed. A San Gennaro festival is also held in September outside of Italy in many Italian American communities outside Italy, including New York and Los Angeles and other cities across the United States. [Below, the 1607 painting "San Gennaro mostra le sue reliquie" by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, oil on canvas, (cm 126,5x92,5), New York, Morton B. Harris collection]. Today the ampoules are kept in a safe behind the altar of the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro. Most importantly it holds the saint's relics, including two sealed vials of his coagulated … Three Italian scientists, Garlaschelli, Ramaccini and Della Sala, produced a suspension having a thixotropic behavior very similar to the fluid of San Gennaro (A Thixotropic mixture like the blood of Saint Januarius, "Nature", vol.353, 10 oct 1991). Unmissable appointment with the Feast of San Gennaro 2020: 18 days of lights and other events to pay homage to the Patron of the City! Jesus Christ and Saint Francis Coat of Arms can be seen towards the front of the church. One objection is that not always the blood liquefied, but this has its answer in the very thixotropic properties of the materials: if shaken gently, there is no liquefaction (after all, the blood of San Gennaro liquefied also outside of the canonical periods). The next day, however, due to the absence of the governor himself, or because the latter realized that the people showed sympathy for the convicted, Gennaro's punishment was suspended. According to tradition, the blood of San Gennaro melt for the first time when bishop Severus moved the saint's remains from Agro Marciano to Naples. (Credit: ANSA / Ciro Fusco.) According to legend, the blood of San Gennaro liquefied for the first time in the fourth century A.D. during the transfer of the saint's remains to Naples, but the first documented report of yje ampoule containing the blood relic dates only from 1389. Dates for 2019. He was bishop of the city in the third century, and his bones and blood are preserved in the cathedral as relics. One of the most important events is linked to an emotional ritual, rich in hope and devotion: the liquefaction of the saint’s dried blood. Naples is no exception and on September 19th each year, this vibrant southern Italian city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, honours one of its principal patron saints, San Gennaro. St. Januarius, or San Gennaro in Italian, is the patron saint of Naples. While the Catholic Church does not take an official stance of the verity of the miracle, scientists contend that the glass vials of dried blood also contain a special gel that liquefies when moved. The crowd watches anxiously to see if the blood miraculously liquefies, believed to be a sign that San Gennaro has blessed the city. Inside the Cathedral or Duomo, the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro is decorated with Baroque frescoes and other artworks. Gennaro was the Bishop of Benevento and paid a visit to the faithful in Pozzuoli. The fabled Feast of San Gennaro returns on Thursday and for 11 days, the clocks will wind back to a time when Little Italy was a major hub of Italian life in New York City. Martha Bakerjian is an Italian travel expert who uses her home in northern Tuscany as a base for her in-depth explorations of the country. Gennaro said that, after his execution, the beggar could take the scarf with which he was to be blindfolded. His first name was actually Procolus, belonging to the gens (family) Ianuaria. The feast of San Gennaro involves prayer, processions and celebrations, and is usually based around a fixed program held in the Duomo of Naples. The Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint and protector of the city of Naples, is celebrated every year on September 19. Every year, all city officials attend the ceremony, including the mayor, the president of the province of Naples and the President of the Campania region. As a matter of fact, there may exist a physical explanation, thixotropy: some materials, called thixotropic, become more fluid when subjected to mechanical stress, such as small shocks or vibrations, returning to the previous state if left undisturbed. In 1389 there was a huge procession to witness the miracle: the liquid stored in the ampoules melted "as if the same day it flowed out of the saint's body." The Feast of San Gennaro, originally a one-day religious commemoration, began in September 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City, to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate San Gennaro, the Patron Saint of Naples. The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian: Festa di San Gennaro) is an Italian-American festival. September 19th is the annual Festa di San Gennaro, the city's most important religious festival. the events that led to his consecration took place in the fourth century, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian. As with many Italian festivals, there's much more than just the main event. The festival honours the patron saint of Naples and is probably the most famous American-Italian festival in the City. A scene from the procession on the feast of San Gennaro in Naples in 2015. Yearly on the first weekend of May and on the 19th September amazement spreads through Naples Cathedral. The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian: Festa di San Gennaro) is an Italian-American festival. In the Vatican Acts many mythical episodes are narrated. The Feast of San Gennaro originally was once only a one-day religious commemoration. Where is it held? A quick liquefaction is considered a sign of good luck while its delay or failure are taken as negative omens. Of the two vials, one is half-empty because part of its content was subtracted by King Charles III Bourbon, who took it to Spain. The main event occurs on 19 September, the feast day of San Gennaro, when the faithful gather in the Cathedral of Naples to witness the liquefaction of the saint’s blood. The heart of the festival is in Mulberry Street, and is characterized by parades, games and the typical sellers of sausages and donuts. Stands selling toys, trinkets, food, and candy are set up in the streets. An example is the ketchup sauce that is in a solid state until shaken, when it becomes much more liquid. The 11-day Feast of San Gennaro is your chance to check out Little Italy ’s best restaurants. It began in September 1926 with the new arrival of immigrants from Naples. The three researchers (who used substances available at the end of the 14th century) with ferric chloride (in the form of molisite, a typical mineral of volcanic areas and present in Mount Vesuvius), calcium carbonate (egg shells are approximately 94% calcium carbonate), sodium chloride (common salt) and water, obtained a red colloidal solution with thixotropic properties. The body of Saint Gennaro is preserved in Naples, where he is honored as the city's principal patron. During the journey to the site of the execution, a beggar asked Gennaro a flap of his garment. Whatever the case may be, the miracle of the liquefied blood has been recorded since the late 1300s, when the cult of San Gennaro began to take hold. The name Gennaro is widespread in Campania and goes back to the Latin "Ianuarius" which means "consecrated to the god Janus", generally given to children born in January, the month sacred to the god. Originally a one-day religious commemoration, the festival was first celebrated in the United States in September 1926, when immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of Manhattan in New York City to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate Saint Januarius, the Patron Saint of Naples. For faithful Neopolitans, the miracle is a sign that San Gennaro loves the city and its people, and will protect them. It is held at the Duomo, Naples – the city’s cathedral. As per tradition, the appointment with the Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of the city of Naples from 11 to 28 September 2020, with a full program of events. Pope Francis visited the church in 2015, and the blood supposedly "half-liquefied" for him. Catholics who commemorate the Feast of St. Januarius may celebrate two miracles—one ancient, one modern; one Old World, one New World. In a solemn religious ceremony, the Cardinal removes the vials of blood from the chapel, and takes them in a procession, along with a bust of San Gennaro, to the cathedral's high altar. Mangia! This traditional Italian feast is an annual celebration of the Patron Saint of Naples. If you are Catholic, if you like the traditions and religious history of Naples, or if you've heard of San Gennaro and would appreciate the pomp & spectacle of the whole event-- … What to See and Do on Spaccanapoli, Naples' Most Famous Street, The 22 Best Things to Do in Naples, Italy, The Best Time of Year for a Trip to Napoli, Italy's Best September Festivals and Events, The 8 Best Museum and Attraction Tickets in Italy in 2021, Festa della Liberazione, or Liberation Day, is April 25 in Italy, Celebrate Christmas Italian Styles at These City Events, Saint Paul Basilica: Stunning Mosaics and the Chains That Held Paul, Don't Miss Little Italy's Feast of San Gennaro. The event draws huge crowds of both locals and visitors. Festivities go on for eight days until the reliquary returns to its place. It's typical for women to spend the day and night before the festival in the church, praying to the saint and urging him (and his blood) to perform his miracle the next day. On the way he met the pious woman with the two ampoules of the saint's blood: at the presence of the saint's head, the blood would melt. San Gennaro, or St. Januarius was the bishop of Benevento and then Naples in the 4th century. In the Eastern Church, it is celebrated on 21 April. There are two other feasts of … On the morning of September 19, thousands of people fill the Duomo and Piazza del Duomo, the square in front of it, hoping to see the saint's blood liquefy in what's known as the miracle of San Gennaro. San Gennaro procession in Naples, 1631 The Feast of St Januarius or San Gennaro is celebrated on 19 September in the calendar of the Catholic Church. Then he returns the reliquary to the altar where the vials remain on display for eight days. According to tradition, after Gennaro's beheading, blood was collected by a pious woman, one Eusebia, who enclosed it inside two ampoules; these became a typical iconographic symbol of San Gennaro. (San Gennaro) San Gennaro, the Bishop of Naples (or Benevento) was beheaded, with his Companions, at Pozzuoli in A.D. 305 by Diocletian for refusing to worship pagan idols. The Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint and protector of the city of Naples, is celebrated every year on September 19. Dragontius then commanded that Gennaro and his companions were to be beheaded: the sentence was executed on 19 September, 305 AD. Three times a year, the faithful rush to witness the liquefaction of the blood. 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