Church of Santa Maria del Buon Consiglio

The sailors' church of Casamicciola

Anyone landing at the port of Casamicciola sees it straight away: the small pale façade with its clock and bells dominates Piazza Marina. This is the church of Santa Maria Madre del Buon Consiglio (Our Lady of Good Counsel), which everyone in town calls the chiesa dei Marinai, the Sailors' Church: a name that tells its origins better than any document.

History

On 3 July 1819 a group of Casamicciola shipowners came together before a notary to undertake the building of a church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel, St John the Baptist and the souls in Purgatory. Their names are still carved on a marble plaque on the right as you enter. Work began in 1821, after the purchase of land in the area that would become the town centre, and the first Mass was celebrated on 1 November 1824. In 1827 came papal permission for daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and, in 1833, a royal rescript granting the founders the right to run the church themselves. To this day it is the responsibility of the Pio sodalizio dei Marinai di Casamicciola, the town's sailors' confraternity.

The church also played a central role in the town's civic history. From 1870, at the sailors' own request, its chaplain was the young priest Giuseppe Morgera. After 1883, when the parish left Piazza Maio, Morgera, by then parish priest, moved the seat of the parish here on 28 July 1884, having restored and lengthened the building. The Buon Consiglio remained the parish church until the new basilica of Santa Maria Maddalena was inaugurated in 1896.

A church that lost its dome

In 1867 the historian Giuseppe D'Ascia described it as having a “bowl-shaped” dome. After 1883 new building regulations required lighter roofs and low bell towers built into the body of the church: the dome disappeared and the bell tower was rebuilt above the façade. Today the memory of the lost vault survives in a circular trompe-l'œil painting on the ceiling that traces its outline.

What to see inside

• The chapel to the left of the high altar, added in the 20th century, with the statue of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
• An 1835 painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel, given as an act of devotion by Giuseppe Mirabella: it depicts the miraculous journey of the Marian image from Scutari to Genazzano, in Lazio.
• The Latin inscription in Carrara marble that speaks directly to the seafarer, reminding him that his offerings helped to build the church.
• The marble-clad walls, added during the 19th-century restoration and enlargement, and the frescoes of sacred subjects on the ceilings and vaults.

Where it is and how to get there

The church stands on Piazza Marina, at the start of Corso Luigi Manzi, a few steps from the port where ferries and hydrofoils from Naples and Pozzuoli dock. It is the ideal starting point for a stroll along the seafront.

What to see nearby

From here you can walk to Piazza Marina, Marina Beach and, along Corso Luigi Manzi, the church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Heading inland and uphill you reach the basilica of Santa Maria Maddalena, while towards Perrone stands the church of Sant'Antonio al Mortito, the first seat of the parish after 1883.

Not to be confused with the basilica

The Buon Consiglio should not be confused with the town's mother church, the basilica of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù e di Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente (Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Mary Magdalene the Penitent), which stands further uphill near Piazzetta Funno: their stories intertwine precisely in the years of rebirth, when the Sailors' Church served as the parish church while the new basilica was awaited.