Santa Chiara, Naples: tickets and hours for the majolica cloister

Santa Chiara: a Gothic church and a majolica cloister

Santa Chiara is one of the great Franciscan complexes of Naples, between Piazza del Gesù Nuovo and Spaccanapoli. The church was built between 1313 and 1340 for King Robert of Anjou and Queen Sancha of Majorca. On 4 August 1943 an Allied bombing raid set it on fire; the restoration, completed in 1953, brought back its original Gothic lines, bare and austere.

Behind the church is the convent of the Poor Clares, with the majolica cloister: a garden framed by pillars and benches covered in painted majolica tiles. Of the complex’s four cloisters, it is the only one open to visitors. It is a quiet space a few steps from the bustle of Spaccanapoli.

What your cloister ticket covers

The €7 ticket opens the whole museum route. These are the highlights.

The majolica cloister

In the 18th century Domenico Antonio Vaccaro redesigned the cloister at the prompting of Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, wife of Charles of Bourbon. He kept the 14th-century perimeter and turned the centre into a Baroque garden. The tiles are by Donato and Giuseppe Massa. The 64 pillars are covered in leaves, flowers and fruit; the bench backs show scenes of town, country and seafaring life alongside mythological subjects. Look for the nun feeding the cloister cats.

17th-century frescoes

The walls of the arcade carry 17th-century frescoes of Old Testament stories by an unknown painter, probably from the circle of Belisario Corenzio. One section was destroyed in the 1943 bombing.

The Roman baths

Post-war restoration uncovered the remains of a Roman bath complex: a palaestra, a covered pool (natatio) and a laconicum, or dry sauna. The complex describes them as the most complete surviving evidence of the baths of ancient Neapolis.

The nativity scene and the Marble Room

The 18th-century Neapolitan presepe, with figures from the 18th and 19th centuries, is a snapshot of everyday life in the city at the time. The Sala dei Marmi gathers sculpture and fragments recovered after 1943, including a 14th-century relief with stories of St Catherine of Alexandria.

Inside the church (free)

Do not leave without seeing the church. Behind the high altar is the tomb of Robert of Anjou by Giovanni and Pacio Bertini (1343). The chapels hold Bourbon tombs, including Francis II with Maria Sophia of Bavaria and Queen Maria Cristina of Savoy, and the tomb of Salvo D’Acquisto, the carabiniere who gave his life to save a group of hostages.

Church hours: daily 7:45–12:45, then from mid-afternoon (16:30 or 16:40, depending on which official page you read) until 20:00. It is a working church, so move quietly during services.

Santa Chiara tickets: prices, discounts and where to buy

• Full price: €7
• Reduced €5: over-65s, university students under 30, teachers (with proof)
• Special €4: ages 7 to 17, school groups
• Free: children under 7
• Disability of 65–100%: free; the companion pays full price, except with 100% disability, when the companion is also free
• Disability under 65%: reduced rate

The key point: tickets are sold only at the ticket desk on Via Santa Chiara 49/c. The complex states that other third-party tickets or vouchers will not be accepted. So there is no online entry ticket to print. No Artecard or FAI discounts either.

Groups of more than 25 pay €5 each (€7 with a guide or skip-the-line entry) and book at least 10 days ahead, paying by bank transfer. In-house guided tours run only on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 and 15:30.

Cloister opening hours and when to go

The museum and cloister open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 and Sunday from 10:00, with last entry half an hour before closing. The official site is inconsistent about closing time: one page says 17:30 (Sunday 14:30), another 17:00 (Sunday 14:00). To be safe, treat 16:30 on weekdays and 13:30 on Sundays as your last guaranteed entry.

The cloister is closed on 25 December, 1 January and Easter. Special closures are announced on the website: on Thursday 22 October 2026 the cloister is closed while the church keeps its normal hours.

Go in the morning if you can, especially on Sundays, when the cloister closes in the early afternoon. On a weekday you can also pair it with the church, which reopens at 16:30–16:40.

Getting there and visitor rules

The museum entrance is at Via Santa Chiara 49/c, behind Piazza del Gesù Nuovo and a few steps from Spaccanapoli (Via Benedetto Croce).

• Metro Line 1: Dante or Università, then a 5–10 minute walk.
• Buses: 151, R2, 202; Alibus (Dante stop).
• Taxi: there is a rank in Piazza del Gesù. The area is a restricted traffic zone, so no private cars.

Rules: photos and video for private use are fine, tripods and drones are not. Small pets are allowed if carried or in a carrier; among larger animals, only assistance dogs. The audio guide is free: you open it on your own phone with a QR code, and it includes 360° views of areas closed to the public. Bring earphones. The video room shows a film of about 15 minutes.

Is the Tiqets guided tour worth it?

To be straightforward: for most visitors the right choice is the €7 ticket at the desk plus the free audio guide. The Tiqets guided tour of the cloister costs from €25, lasts about 35 minutes, is in Italian only and starts in Piazza del Gesù Nuovo; it is run by the local operator Askos. It makes sense if you understand Italian well and want someone to talk you through the scenes on the tiles. It has very few reviews so far, and offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

If you are short on time, the walking tour with the Sansevero Chapel and Santa Chiara from €48.50 is more interesting: the two official tickets come to €22 (Sansevero €15 online, Santa Chiara €7), the rest is the guide, and you do not have to sort out the compulsory Sansevero booking yourself. 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.

Fitting Santa Chiara into an old-town walk

Santa Chiara makes a good starting point for a morning in the historic centre. Step out onto Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, cross Spaccanapoli and in five minutes you are at the Sansevero Chapel (with your ticket booked in advance). From there, head up to Via dei Tribunali for San Lorenzo Maggiore and the Cathedral and Treasure of San Gennaro. In the afternoon you can walk down to Via Toledo and the Galleria Umberto. For the rest of the city’s paid sights, start from our Naples tickets page: the Santa Chiara cloister remains one of the cheapest and most enjoyable stops in the centre.