Wooden doorway

Basilica of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli

The carved sixteenth-century doorway.

The entrance doorway of the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli lies hidden within the main façade of the palazzo of the Comune di Napoli, at the top of the staircase, beyond the gate.

The sixteenth-century doorway, composed of two leaves, is carved with four principal relief panels. In the upper part are represented the images of the Madonna and of a pilgrim friar, a reference to the pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela, of whom Saint James is the patron. The scenes below depict a man bearing a book, an eagle and a woman holding a monstrance in her hand. At the sides of the scenes are figures of angels recalling the fourteenth-century ones realised by Tino da Camaino in Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

All this remarkable wooden modelling had lost volume owing to surface deposits and the layers of paint applied over time. Lacunae, losses and cracking were evident. The locks that secure the doorway, however, prove to be original.