Obelisk of San Domenico

The Obelisk of San Domenico, a baroque sculptural masterpiece, stands prominently in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, Naples, directly facing the church it's named after. As the city's second monumental spire after the Obelisk of San Gennaro, it was erected in 1656 as a votive offering by the Neapolitan people to Saint Dominic, hoping to ward off that year's plague. Initially entrusted to Cosimo Fanzago, the project was later taken over by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti in 1658 due to Fanzago's slow pace. The project saw various phases of slow progress, partly due to archaeological findings at the site.

After a brief intervention by Lorenzo Vaccaro, Fanzago's pupil, around 1680, work stalled for nearly fifty years until Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Vaccaro's son, resumed it in 1736, completing it a year later. Vaccaro added the missing decorative sculptures and friezes, integrating his predecessors' designs for a cohesive structure. The obelisk was finalized in 1737, though the statue of Saint Dominic at its peak, based on a Vaccaro model but executed by an unknown 18th-century sculptor, was only placed in 1747. This obelisk, with its richly decorated marble and sculptural adornments, stands as a testament to the artistic legacy of the Baroque era in Naples, reflecting the collaborative efforts of several generations of artists.