Monte San Costanzo

The highest ground in Massa Lubrense carries a white chapel above views of the gulfs of Naples and Salerno.

Why it matters

Monte San Costanzo closes the ridge of the Sorrentine peninsula above Termini. Its two summits frame views across the gulfs of Naples and Salerno, including the bay of Ieranto, the Li Galli rocks, Punta Campanella, Capri, Ischia and Procida. The white church of San Costanzo stands on one summit; local families built it in the second half of the sixteenth century.

What to notice

The hill has two summits: the white chapel stands on one, while an aviation radio station occupies the other. A pine grove lies between them. The church has a single rectangular nave, double extradosed domes, a rectangular apse with a barrel vault, and a floor of cut marble segments. A gilded wooden statue of the saint was found on the altar; a fresco of the Virgin between Saint Bernardino and Saint Constantius was uncovered behind it.

Context and history

The chapel dates its construction to 1550 and is first mentioned in documents of 1566; the interior took its present form between 1700 and 1730 under Monsignor Nepita. Its dedication recalls San Costanzo. An annual May procession carries the saint's gilded statue from Termini to the summit chapel, and in July the statue returns to its church in Termini.