Eruption of Mount Vesuvius with the Ponte della Maddalena in the Distance

Religion

Padre Rocco and the crowd at the Maddalena Bridge, invoking Saint Januarius against the eruption of 1767.

A detail from the Volaire painting in this gallery.

The monk in the foreground of the painting likely represents Padre Gregorio Rocco, a contemporary Dominican friar who was extremely popular among Naples’ inhabitants when Volaire was working on the painting. He holds in his left hand an image of Saint Januarius, the patron saint of the city. Because a procession in honor of Januarius was credited with the mollification of Vesuvius’ 1631 eruption, the saint became extremely popular among the Neapolitans as a guard against volcanic destruction.

In 1767, during the eruption which this painting depicts, a mob brandishing torches stormed the city’s cathedral, attempting to steal the skull of Saint Januarius and convince the saint to intercede once again against Vesuvius. Rocco, concerned about the offence this would cause the saint, persuaded the crowd otherwise, and instead led a procession with only an image of Januarius. He led the masses onto the Ponte della Maddalena Bridge (the same one visible in the background of the painting), at which point the eruption reportedly stopped. The miracle was commemorated by a statue of Saint Januarius, which remained on the bridge for several centuries afterward.