Piazza Dante and the history of the Convitto Nazionale complex

It was precisely in 1625 that the piazza was officially born, when the local people made an unauthorised "pertuso" (breach) in the city wall, so as to connect with the surrounding boroughs, in particular that of the Avvocata, which was expanding by the day.

Standing right in the heart of the historic centre, Piazza Dante is one of the city's key squares; it marks the start of Via Toledo and the entrance to Port'Alba.

The square, however, had already become a centre of city life back in 1588, when it began hosting the city's second market, after that of Piazza Mercato; for this reason, it earned the name "Largo Mercatello" (Little Market Square).

Until the mid-nineteenth century it housed, to the north, the grain-pit building and, to the south, the oil cisterns (the city's main food stores), as well as offices, hospitals and well-known cafés.

The square took on its final layout, the one we all know today, in the second half of the eighteenth century thanks to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who was commissioned to build the "Foro Carolino", a monument celebrating King Charles III of Bourbon. For this very reason, the structure, which features two curved side wings, was adorned with twenty-six statues representing the virtues of Charles (three of which were carved by Giuseppe Sammartino).

The history of the Convitto Nazionale

In 1768, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, after expelling the Jesuits from the kingdom, founded the Casa del Salvatore (House of the Saviour) here, which in 1807 became the Collegio del Gesù Vecchio, then the Real Collegio di Napoli (Royal College of Naples) and, finally, with the authorisation of Gioacchino Murat, the Liceo del Salvatore.

After serving as the seat of the Chamber of Parliament, in 1820 it was once again transformed, this time into a music conservatory, and handed back to the Jesuits, who founded a public school here, opening an entrance to the Convitto right in the central niche of the Foro Carolino.

The oldest surviving element of the complex that can still be admired today is the small cloister, which has a square plan and two tiers: the first, probably the oldest still standing in Naples (early 14th century), features columns and zoomorphic and anthropomorphic capitals supporting the arches; the second, dating from the seventeenth century, is built with square piperno pillars supporting round arches. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the convent was extended to the north, with the construction of the large cloister, in Renaissance style.

With the arrival of Garibaldi in 1860, the Jesuits were once again expelled and their property confiscated and nationalised. The building therefore officially became the "Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II", which today houses a primary school, a middle school, a European Classical Lyceum, a traditional Scientific Lyceum and a Sports Scientific Lyceum.