With Caravaggio at Pio Monte della Misericordia

The Martyrdom of St. Ursula exhibited at the Gallerie d'Italia and the Flagellation of Christ at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte are joined by another masterpiece by Caravaggio, the brilliant and outrageous artist who spent two periods of his turbulent existence in the Neapolitan city, also living in the Quartieri Spagnoli. It is the touching The Seven Works of Mercy in the chapel of the 17th-century palazzo of Pio Monte della Misericordia: on the high altar is the canvas in which Caravaggio, with his usual crudeness, highlights the charitable activities of the institution housed in the palazzo, from dressing the naked to hospitality for pilgrims, from visiting prisoners and the sick to food and drink for the hungry and thirsty, and the burial of the dead. Surrounding Merisi's masterpiece are works by other 17th century Neapolitan masters such as Luca Giordano, to whom works by Jan Fabre have recently been juxtaposed. Also captivating is the Sette Caffè buvette where one can have an aperitif surrounded by sculptures.