Between Rome and Naples: The Frescoes of S. Giovanni a Mare and S. Angelo dei Marzi at Gaeta

At the beginning of the 14th century the city of Gaeta experienced a period of intense renovatio, as shown by the construction of many churches and monasteries and by a series of works of art created at the time. The particular geographical position occupied by the city and its privileged relations with the rulers of the nearby city of Naples promoted an environment of great artistic importance. In this period the frescoes in the monastic church of S. Angelo dei Marzi and in the intra moenia church of S. Giovanni a Mare were painted. These frescoes appear to reflect a moment of transition, as the style and iconography show traces of continuity with the style of art produced in Rome at the end of the 13 th century, while being influenced, at the same time, by the frescoes painted in Naples by Pietro Cavallini and his followers around 1308. The frescoes in question thus became important witnesses to the considerable impact of the art of Cavallini. Moreover, these works are particularly useful in mapping the presence of the Roman school in the territories of the Terra Laboris, during the first half of the XIV century.