Sant'Anastasia: Churches, Ex-voto Art and Trails

In Sant'Anastasia, religious heritage and trails through the landscape appeal to different travel interests. The Santuario della Madonna dell’Arco and its affiliated museum offer a cultural highlight, while L'Olivella and Il Monte Somma lead to named springs and mountain destinations.

Santuario della Madonna dell’Arco and Ex-voto Art

The Santuario della Madonna dell’Arco is a major Neoclassical church with a Latin cross floor plan, dating from the early 17th century. The Latin cross floor plan describes the layout of the building, while Neoclassical identifies its architectural style. The church's form and style therefore offer two distinct points of interest when you visit.

Inside the sanctuary is a fresco of the Madonna and Child, dated to the first half of the 15th century. The artwork predates the early 17th-century church. The same sanctuary thus brings together different periods: an earlier fresco and a church whose architectural style is Neoclassical.

The affiliated Museum of Popular Religiousness Ex voto preserves religious votive offerings, including around 7,000 painted panels. The collection of painted ex-votos spans four centuries, from 1500 to 1900. There is also a section featuring silver and gold objects donated by the faithful from 1700 to the present day. The painted panels and donated metal objects are distinct forms of religious votive offerings, and their time spans differ too. If you are interested in ex-voto art, you will find both a collection of painted panels and a dedicated section of silver and gold objects here.

More Church Architecture

The parish church of Santa Maria la Nova in Sant'Anastasia offers a different architectural feature: its bell tower is octagonal and tapered. This gives you another way to explore the town's churches, each through distinct features. At the Santuario, the focus is on style and floor plan; at Santa Maria la Nova, it is on the shape of the bell tower.

L'Olivella and Il Monte Somma

The L'Olivella trail climbs through the landscape of Sant'Anastasia to the springs of the same name. They rise at 382 m above sea level.

The Il Monte Somma loop leads to Punta Nasone, the highest peak of Monte Somma at 1,132 m. Along the route, you also climb to the Cognoli di Sant'Anastasia at an elevation of 1,086 m. L'Olivella's springs, the Cognoli and Punta Nasone are distinct destinations: a spring area on the one hand, and two high-altitude destinations above 1,000 m on the other. Maintenance work is underway on the trail network; check current conditions before setting out on a hike.

When choosing between these options, you can focus on the specific destinations: L'Olivella leads to the springs, while Il Monte Somma leads to Punta Nasone and the Cognoli di Sant'Anastasia. This can help you choose Sant'Anastasia based on your interest in religious art or these named hiking destinations.

Discover more destinations: Procida, Pomigliano d'Arco, Marano Di Napoli, Lago Patria, Portici, Agerola, Acerra, Santa Maria La Carità

For the main travel guide: Naples.