Church of San Gregorio Armeno

The oldest monastery in Naples is located on the street of the same name, going north of Via San Biagio Dei Librai, three blocks from Pizza San Domenico and two blocks from Via Duomo. It occupies an entire block, but is surrounded by dense residential development, so we can only see the monumental facade of the monastery church (Chiesa di San Gregorio Armeno). The monastery dates back to the fifth century, when Bishop Nostriano opened a hospital for the poor in this place. In the eighth century, Basilian nuns who fled persecution from Constantinople found a monastery in the hospital. They brought with them the relics of St. Gregory, the former Patriarch of Armenia from 257 to 331, which gave the monastery its name. There is also a version according to which the church was founded by the mother of Emperor Constantine I Flavia Julia Helena in 930, dedicating it to St. Patricia of Constantinople, so the inhabitants of Naples sometimes call the church Sanata Patricia (Chiesa di Santa Patrizia Santa Patrizia).

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