Chiesa di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli

The Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli stands in Cetara's upper Casale quarter. Rebuilt after the flood of 1910, it combines a nineteenth-century church with a Vietri ceramic image of the Madonna made in 1932.

Why it matters

The church reflects the growth of Cetara's hillside quarter and the community's rebuilding after the destructive flood. Its ceramic façade panel also links the town's religious heritage to the craft tradition of nearby Vietri sul Mare.

What to notice

Above the portal, a ceramic panel depicting the Madonna di Costantinopoli was made in 1932 by the Ceramica Pinto kiln. The church has a single nave, transept and small dome; frescoes of the four Evangelists by Manzo occupy the pendentives. The polychrome marble main altar and a Marian altarpiece associated with the D'Amato workshop of Maiori add further artistic layers. A small marble relief is preserved in the sacristy, and a pipe organ stands above the entrance.

Context and history

The church replaced a small oratory of the same dedication, known as Santa Maria d'o Puopolo, which stood on the hill by 1550. Construction of the later church began in the early nineteenth century, and its consecration is dated probably to 1867. The flood of 1910 almost destroyed it; rebuilding continued in the early twentieth century, and the bell tower was added between 1930 and 1940. The ceramic panel belongs to the same period of renewed activity in Vietri's ceramic industry.