The basilica of Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori, in Piazza Sant'Alfonso in Pagani, is entrusted to the Redemptorists, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and bears the name of their founder, who wanted it and conceived it himself. Having come to Pagani to establish the congregation there, Alfonso first had a small chapel built; for the church he obtained a decree from King Charles of Bourbon and entrusted the design and the direction of the works to the royal architect Pietro Cimafonte. Building began in 1756 and, after various interruptions, was completed only in 1824. It was consecrated on 25 September 1803, when it was still dedicated to St Michael; in 1908 Pope Pius X raised it to a minor basilica.
What to see
The neoclassical façade, with columns and stucco decorations, was made in 1823 by Filippo Conforto; the following year Carmine Calvanese made the statues of Saints Peter and Paul, in the two niches beside the entrance. The interior is a Latin cross, with a single nave and four side chapels dedicated to St Gerard Majella, St Clement Mary Hofbauer, St Joseph and Our Lady of the Rosary. The central altar, raised in 1883 with marbles that come from the Royal Palace of Caserta, is surmounted by an altarpiece of St Michael the Archangel.
To the left of the apse opens the chapel of the saint, begun in 1821. The altar of polychrome marbles encloses the silver urn, made by melting down precious objects donated by the faithful; the relics, arranged anatomically on a silver carriage, were brought there in that same year. Above is the wooden statue of the saint, the work of the Neapolitan Antonio Lebbro. Of the two side altars, that of Our Lady of Perpetual Help comes from the original oratory: St Alphonsus himself celebrated Mass at it.
Visiting
Opening and Mass times should be checked with the Redemptorist fathers of the basilica. Today's appearance owes much to the restoration and decoration works directed in the thirties by Gino Chierici, who embellished the chapel of the saint with marbles.
Our editors' tip
In the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary look at the statue's dress: it is the wedding dress of Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, who donated it herself. And there is a story behind the project: to gain the consent of the king, who was reluctant about new religious institutes, the fathers' building was not to have the form of a convent but of a «casa secolaresca», a secular house, as Marquis Brancone wrote to Alfonso.
