Entrance gate

The gate of iron and gold.

The entrance gate of the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, the subject of the restoration, stands on the main façade of Palazzo San Giacomo, seat of the Comune di Napoli.

The gate presumably dates from 1741, the year in which the building underwent a considerable transformation. A series of restorations and the demolition of the adjoining hospital transformed the front of the Basilica.

The iron gate is composed of individual forged and welded decorative elements — gilded monstrances — drawing on Christian symbolism, the whole enclosed by a border decorated with a meander motif interspersed with studs. The upper section, presumably reworked, bears the motto of the confraternity.

The alterations to the gate that were identified and resolved are those typical of iron alloys: incipient oxidation, chromatic alterations and encrustations.