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Caravaggio in Naples - The master of painting in the city that offered him refuge
5
days
from
A$4,640
Book today with a deposit of
A$696
8th - 12th February 2027
Tour highlights
- See all three of Caravaggio’s Neapolitan masterpieces, including The Seven Works of Mercy – one of the most ambitious and emotionally charged altarpieces of the 17th century – still in the church for which it was painted.
- Explore the turbulent city that both sheltered and shaped Caravaggio: its plague hospitals, confraternities and teeming streets left an indelible mark on his late work.
- Encounter the painters, patrons and religious networks that formed Caravaggio’s Neapolitan world, and discover how his followers – Battistello Caracciolo, Jusepe de Ribera and others – transformed his legacy.
- Led by Dr Josephine Neil, art historian and author, whose forthcoming book on Caravaggesque painting draws on original archival research in Rome and Naples.
In 1606, fleeing Rome under sentence of death for murder, the painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio arrived in Naples: one of the largest, wealthiest and most contradictory cities in Europe. Amid splendour and poverty, devotion and violence, plague hospitals and vice-regal magnificence, he produced some of the most profound and emotionally charged works of his career.
This tour follows Caravaggio into that world. Through visits to the churches, monasteries, palaces and collections for which he and his followers worked – among them the Museo di Capodimonte, the Pio Monte della Misericordia and the Certosa di San Martino – we explore how his paintings engaged with the religious culture and lived realities of the city around him. Darkness in these works is never merely the absence of light: it becomes a language of suffering, grace and spiritual transformation, shaped by a city where such extremes were inescapable.
The tour is led by Dr Josephine Neil, whose forthcoming book on Caravaggesque painting draws on original archival research in Rome and Naples. Alongside the three Neapolitan masterpieces, she will introduce the painters, patrons and religious networks that made Naples one of the most remarkable artistic centres of the 17th century – and consider how Caravaggio’s followers responded to, and extended, his legacy in the years after his death.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 9.15am from London Heathrow to Naples (British Airways). Drive through Naples to the hotel, where all 4 nights are spent, for preliminary lecture and the first dinner.
An introductory walk through Naples’ historic centre sets the scene for Caravaggio’s time in the city; it ends at the Palazzo Piacentini in the Gallerie d’Italia, where his Martyrdom of St Ursula is housed. In the afternoon drive into the hilly suburbs to visit the palace of Capodimonte, originally a giant hunting lodge. Here is located one of Italy’s greatest art galleries, with a magnificent range of art from the Middle Ages onwards, including The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio.
The Museo Civico Filangieri is a Renaissance Palace which now houses the eclectic collection of Prince Gaetano Filangieri. Continue to the nearby Duomo, a major centre of life at the time Caravaggio was in Naples; the tumultous and impoverished streets surrounding had a profound influence on his work. Just 200m away is the church of Pio Monte della Misericordia, for which Caravaggio painted The Seven Works of Mercy (1607), which became the church’s altarpiece.
The morning is spent at the Certosa di San Martino; high on a hill which provides stunning views over the city and the Bay of Naples, the monastery has a church of extraordinary lavishness of art and decoration, and was an important commission for Caravaggio’s Neapolitan followers, such as Battistello Caracciolo and Jusepe de Ribera. The afternoon is free.
The Palazzo Reale illustrates the immense power of the wealthy patrons who shaped Naples in the 17th century and is another site of important commissions for Caravaggio’s followers. In the Hall of the Great Captain, Caracciolo’s vaulted ceiling fresco is said to include a portrait of Caravaggio. In the afternoon fly from Naples to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 6.30pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Josephine Neil
Dr Josephine Neil is currently an Associate Tutor for the Undergraduate Diploma in the History of Art at the University of Oxford and an independent researcher. Her book, The Incomprehensible Divine in Caravaggesque Painting is due for publication in 2026 following research in the archives of Rome and Naples. She has been a guest lecturer at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, a former fellow of The Centre for the Art History of Port Cities in Naples and an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Paris and visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge. She has also completed research projects at the Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, and the National Gallery of Victoria and curated in some of the UK’s most prominent art galleries and museums. Publications include a chapter in Sacred Images and Normativity: Contested Forms in Early Modern Art, in collaboration with LMU Munich.
More tours led by Dr Josephine Neil
Practicalities
Price, per person. Two sharing: A$4,980 or A$4,640 without flights. Single occupancy: A$5,740 or A$5,400 without flights.
Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts and 3 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Grand Hotel Santa Lucia, Naples: a 4-star hotel on the waterfront about 15 minutes on foot from Piazza Plebiscito, with spectacular views of Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. Rooms are all of a good size. Rooms with a sea view are available on request and for a supplement. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
A large swathe of central Naples is inaccessible to traffic, certainly to coaches. Pavements are often uneven, some roads are steep, traffic can be unpredictable. A good level of fitness is necessary. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing.
Between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Smartraveller to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
8th - 12th February 2027
Speaker:
Dr Josephine Neil
Price:
from A$4,640
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