San Gregorio Armeno

San Gregorio Armeno ("St. Gregory of Armenia") is a church and a monastery in Naples, Italy. It is one of the most important Baroque complexes in Naples.

In the 8th century, the iconoclast decrees in Greece caused a number of religious orders to flee the Byzantine empire and seek refuge elsewhere. San Gregorio Armeno in Naples was built in that century over the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Ceres, by a group of nuns escaping from the Byzantine Empire with the relics of St. Gregory, bishop of Armenia. During the Norman domination the monastery was united to that of the Salvatore and San Pantaleone, assuming the Benedictine rule.

The construction of the church was begun in 1574 and consecrated five years later. The façade has three arcades surmounted by four pilaster strips in Tuscan order. The interior has a single nave with five side arcades: the decoration, with the exception of the five chapels, was finished by Luca Giordano (also author of the "Saints" over the windows of the dome) in 1679. Bernardino Lama was author of the altarpiece. The interior houses also the famous Holy Staircase, used by the nuns during their penitences.

The main attractive is the cloister (1580). In the centre is a marble fountain, decorated with dolphins and other marine creatures, with the statues of Christ and the Samaritana, by Matteo Bottiglieri.