Naples Cathedral and the Treasure of San Gennaro: tickets, hours and highlights

Three visits in one: what is free and what is not

The cathedral complex confuses a lot of visitors, because different bodies run different parts under one roof. Here is how it breaks down.

• Cathedral (nave): free.
• Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro: free; you enter from the right aisle. Audio guide for the Chapel alone €5.
• Basilica of Santa Restituta and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte: free guided visit, donation welcome, booking required.
• “500 domes” rooftop tour: from €6.
• Treasure of San Gennaro Museum: €15, including the Chapel’s sacristies and the audio guide. Entrance at Via Duomo 149, under the portico to the right of the cathedral’s main door.

In short, you can see the heart of the San Gennaro cult without spending anything, and pay only if the treasure and the sacristies interest you. Older guidebooks still mention a fee for Santa Restituta: since February 2025 the visit has been free, with a donation.

What to see in Naples Cathedral

According to the cathedral’s own site, building began in 1272 under Charles I of Anjou and was completed in 1313 under Robert of Anjou; it was dedicated to the Assumption in 1314. Inside are an altarpiece by Perugino, the tombs of Popes Innocent IV and Innocent XII, and Angevin monuments restored by Domenico Fontana.

Santa Restituta and the Baptistery

The Basilica of Santa Restituta was the city’s first cathedral, traditionally founded under Constantine, with columns taken from Roman buildings. The Chapel of Santa Maria del Principio has an early 14th-century mosaic by Lello da Orvieto. The Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, founded by Bishop Severus in the late 4th or early 5th century, keeps early Christian mosaics (the Traditio Legis, the Wedding at Cana, the Samaritan woman) and is among the oldest in the Western world.

The Minutolo Chapel and the Succorpo

The Minutolo Chapel preserves its Gothic architecture, original floor and frescoes, including work by Montano d’Arezzo; Boccaccio set the tale of Andreuccio da Perugia here (Decameron II.5). Beneath the high altar is the Succorpo (Carafa Chapel), built between 1497 and 1508, which holds the relics of San Gennaro’s body.

The Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro

In 1527, amid plague and war, the city vowed to build the saint a chapel. It went up between 1608 and 1637 to a design by Francesco Grimaldi, and the leading names of 17th-century Naples worked on it: Domenichino, Giovanni Lanfranco (the dome), Jusepe de Ribera and Cosimo Fanzago. The silver altar frontal is by Giovan Domenico Vinaccia and the bronze statue of the saint by Giuliano Finelli. The phials of blood are kept in the safe behind the high altar.

The Chapel is governed by the Deputazione della Real Cappella, which since 2021 has entrusted the running of the museum to the company D’Uva. Hours: Monday and Saturday 9:30–13:00 and 15:00–18:00; Tuesday to Friday 9:30–13:00 and 14:30–18:00; Sunday 9:00–13:00 and 16:30–18:00. Last entry half an hour before each closing. Services can change access.

Treasure of San Gennaro Museum: tickets and highlights

The museum tells seven centuries of gifts to the patron saint, many of them from kings and queens. The pieces not to miss:

• The mitre by Matteo Treglia, from the early 18th century: gilded silver set with 3,326 diamonds, 198 emeralds and 168 rubies, weighing 18 kilos.
• The necklace, begun in 1679 with 13 gold links by Michele Dato and later enriched by Charles of Bourbon and Maria Amalia, Maria Carolina, Joseph Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II.
• The silver busts: 54 effigies of co-patron saints and the Virgin, billed as the largest such collection in the world. San Gennaro’s reliquary bust was commissioned by Charles II of Anjou in 1304.
• The Chapel’s three sacristies, open only with a museum ticket.

Until 10 January 2027 the museum also hosts Colors of Mimmo Jodice, curated by Sylvain Bellenger: more than 40 colour photographs of 17th-century Neapolitan masterpieces.

Treasure Museum prices

• Full price: €15, audio guide included (11 languages plus Neapolitan, and a children’s version)
• Reduced: €11 for over-65s, carers of disabled visitors, university students, teachers, Campania Artecard, ICOM, FAI and other partner card holders
• Free: under-12s, disabled visitors, accredited guides and journalists
• Family (3 people): €30, plus €7 for each additional member over 12
• Treasure + Museo Filangieri: €17 (reduced €13, family €35)
• Weekend group guided tour (Italian/English) and tour in Neapolitan dialect: €25

A Trenitalia Frecce or SNAV ticket to Naples dated up to 3 days before your visit gets you 50% off.

The miracle of San Gennaro: three fixed dates

The phials of the saint’s blood are brought out on three fixed occasions:

1. the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, marking the translation of the relics, when the phials are carried in procession;
2. 19 September, the saint’s feast day, when the phials remain on display for a whole week;
3. 16 December, for one day only.

If your trip falls on these dates you will see a genuinely local side of the city, but expect crowds, queues and access to the Chapel and cathedral shaped by the celebrations. The rest of the year the visit is far calmer.

Free guided tours and the rooftop walk

Cathedral visits are organised by MUDD – Museo Diocesano Diffuso. The guided visit to Santa Restituta and the Baptistery is free with a donation, lasts about an hour and must be booked. Tours depart daily between 9:30 and 17:00, hourly according to the cathedral’s website. The info point is currently in the Seripando Chapel, in the left aisle. Groups of more than 25 book by email.

The “500 domes” rooftop tour starts from the Cappella degli Illustrissimi and climbs to 40 metres: it costs from €6 and takes about 45 minutes. It is not suitable for people with motor or visual disabilities. From up there the old town reads like a map.

Hours, rules and getting there

The three spaces keep different hours, so plan around them:

• Treasure Museum: daily 9:30–18:00, last entry 17:00, no closing day. Some websites still list a Wednesday closure or different times: go by the official site.
• Chapel of the Treasure: split hours, closed over lunch (see above).
• Cathedral: worship hours roughly Mon–Sat 8:30–13:30 and 14:30–19:30, Sun 8:00–13:00 and 16:30–19:30; check the cathedral’s website before you go.

In the museum, photos and video are allowed without flash, and pets are welcome. There is no cloakroom, but small bags can be left at the ticket desk. In the cathedral, dress and behave as you would in any working church.

The cathedral is at Via Duomo 147. The handiest stops should be Duomo (Line 1) on Corso Umberto, from where you walk up Via Duomo, and Piazza Cavour (Line 2), about 10 minutes away: check the route on a map before you set off.

Official ticket or Tiqets for the Treasure of San Gennaro?

This one is easy, because the price is identical: €15 either way. The Tiqets ticket is sold by the same company that runs the museum on behalf of the Deputazione, and it is rated 4.6 from more than 250 reviews. Choose Tiqets if you like having everything in the app and free cancellation until 23:59 the day before; choose the official site if you want the family ticket, the Museo Filangieri combination or the Frecce/SNAV discount. And note that a product called “Chapel + Museum” does not mean the Chapel costs money: it is free, and what you pay for is the museum, the sacristies and the audio guide.

We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Naples Cathedral sits on Via Duomo, a few steps from Via dei Tribunali: pair it with San Lorenzo Maggiore and Napoli Sotterranea, then walk down to the Sansevero Chapel. If the saint’s story grabs you, the Catacombs of San Gennaro complete the picture. Every other ticketed sight is on our Naples tickets page.