The basilica and monastery of Santa Chiara (also known as the Monastery of Saint Clare) were built between 1310 and 1340, on a Roman bath complex of the first century AD, at the behest of Robert d'Anjou and Queen Sancha of Majorca , near the western city wall, in Naples. It is the largest Gothic church in the city.
The facade of the church, a huge block of yellow tufa, is a symbol of the historic center of Naples. The church, the monastery with its magnificent cloister, the Archaeological Area and the Museo dell'Opera make up the complex, located in the Franciscan citadel, a stone's throw from Piazza del Gesu The temple erected by Gagliardo Primario was intended to house the tombs rulers and in particular of Robert of Anjou, whose monumental tomb is considered the largest medieval tomb. The Gothic facade, with its distinctive triangular pediment, the central rose window and buttresses in the Franciscan style, is separated from the street by a courtyard, which is accessed through an impressive gateway. The base of the tower, on the left, keeps the original Gothic style, like the interior, where the sense of vastness is emphasized by the only aisle on which there are ten chapels on each side. Once the wooden trusses, like any other architectural element, contributes to the spirit of austere simplicity that invites contemplation. In the choir, with three naves, which opens on the opposite side of the facade, the fragments of a fresco depicting the Crucifixion are what remains of Giotto, known to decorate the walls of the basilica in 1326. The tombs, built in the sanctuary, are all masterpieces made by fourteenth-century sculptors such as Tino Camaiano, who worked at the graves of Charles of Calabria and Marie de Valois, and the brothers Bertini, which must be the tomb of Robert of Anjou. Passing through the "nuns' choir" to access the Majolica Cloister of the Poor Clares, who snatches the look with Baroque architecture and spectacular effects as the flight of octagonal pillars designed by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, a Neapolitan artist gifted and versatile. A Vaccaro was entrusted with the supervision of works for the cloister, built in the first half of the eighteenth century. The beautiful decorations of tiles you need, instead, to artisans and Joseph Donato Massa, with the use of colors like green, yellow and blue, provide a perfect harmonization of the cloister with the architectural elements surrounding the garden, citrus and the sky itself. The 64 columns show off trees and floral motifs, rural scenes and seascapes. Wherever bucolic themes prevail or even mythological, clearly inspired by neoclassical economics. Secular character of the scenes also represented on the seats: the reflections of everyday life precluded the nuns. The walls of the cloister of the four sides are entirely covered with frescoes by the artist remains unknown. Here's idyllic give way to figures of saints, allegories and scenes from the Old Testament.

In the cloister is the entrance to the Museum of the place, built from the remains of a Roman thermal baths found after the war, during the restoration of the complex.

 Divided into four rooms, the museum gives a glimpse of Neapolitan history, from antiquity to the twentieth century, and retains some of the treasures miraculously survived the bombing of 1943. Are collected in the Hall Archaeological artefacts found during excavations and restoration. The Hall of History tells the story of the complex of Santa Chiara, the evolution of monastic life through the centuries. Statues and marble decorations, in many cases damaged by bombing, characterize the Marble Hall. This is also the friezes that decorated the cells of the Poor Clares, reproducing the crests of noble families from which came the guests of the Royal Monastery. In the room you can admire the Reliquary vestments, liturgical furnishings and memorabilia of great value, but also the beautiful wooden bust of Ecce Homo, Renaissance work of Giovanni da Nola. The tour continues in the archaeological area, through the various structures like the Roman spa tepidaria the laconicum and frigidarium, providing the idea of ​​a vast and very complex. Worth a visit, also the Hall of the Nativity, which contains one of the most beautiful cribs made in Naples during the reign of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon (avid collector of representations of the Nativity). Neapolitan-style, recreates the crib, around the Holy Family scenes and glimpses of local life. His characters are artisans, street vendors, shepherds and farmers of Neapolitan eighteenth century, played with maniacal care even in their distinctive clothing. The merciless realism with which the figures are representative of common people stands out by contrast, compared with figures of angels and those of the Nativity, held symbolically in a ruined Roman monument.