Protests develop in Naples over cathedral jewels

Protests have developed amid concerns that control of a priceless treasure in Naples is being passed to the Church.

According to reports, some 2,000 people gathered outside the cathedral waving white handkerchiefs and shouting “Hands off San Gennaro”, to uphold the city's centuries-old right to guard the jewels of its patron saint, San Gennaro (Saint Januarius).

The jewels, donated by kings and aristocrats after a series of disasters gripped Naples in the 16th Century, are considered one of the world’s most precious collections, with their worth being estimated as even surpassing that of the British crown jewels. They are dedicated to San Gennaro, a 4th Century Christian martyr whose miraculous preserved blood is said to be conserved in a glass vial in the cathedral.

The Guardian reports that Paolo Jorio, director of the San Gennaro museum where the collection is kept, said, “We’re protecting a centuries-old institution, we will not stand for interference from either the church or the government.”

The collection has traditionally been considered the property of a local lay council, but a new decree issued by interior minister Angelino Alfano reclassifies the treasure as religious, not secular, property.

Supporters of the city's claim to the treasure fear that the decree will open the way to the special council which manages the jewels - the Deputation - losing control to the Roman Catholic Church.

The city of Naples has so far retained control of the treasure because the chapel inside the cathedral dedicated to the saint was built with city funds, not Church money. Survivors of a number of hardships in the 16th century, including, a resurgence of the plague, a siege by the French and an eruption by the volcano Vesuvius which set off earthquakes, had pledged to build the chapel to their patron saint.

The chapel was also presided over by the newly-formed council, made up of 12 lay citizens and the mayor, and came to house one of the world’s most important collections of religious treasures.

The Italian government argues that the council should be the same as any other caretaker body which manages religious buildings, and wants to give four of the Deputation's 13 seats to the Church.

However, the Guardian reports, the council and its supporters say it is much more than that, particularly because the council oversees the Gennaro miracle, which entails a ceremony that takes place three times a year. Locals pray for the miraculous liquefaction of the saint’s blood held in a glass vial clutched by a priest or cardinal.

According to tradition, if the blood does not return to liquid from its coagulated state, it is seen as a bad omen for the city – a harbinger, say the superstitious, of a disaster, perhaps even the eruption of mighty Vesuvius, which looms over the city. A white handkerchief is waved to announce a miracle.