The Pellegrini Museum Complex

In the heart of Pignasecca, one of the gateways to Naples’ historic center, a long-hidden cultural treasure is once again becoming part of the city’s life. It is the Pellegrini Museum Complex, which preserves five centuries of history of the Most August Archconfraternity of the Holy Trinity of Pilgrims and Convalescents. A collection of churches, historic spaces, and works of art that recounts the long history of the Archconfraternity and the role it has played in the city’s social and religious life.

The tour takes visitors through the Church of Santa Maria Materdomini, the Church of the Holy Trinity designed by Carlo Vanvitelli, and the historic rooms of the Archconfraternity. Among the paintings, frescoes, sculptures, and furnishings, visitors will encounter works by artists such as Bernardino Campi, Carlo Maratta, Francesco De Mura, Andrea Vaccaro, and Giuseppe Bonito—a testament to the artistic wealth accumulated over the centuries.

After ten years of restoration and a major project to make the complex fully accessible—completed in 2024—the museum now opens its doors to residents and visitors alike, with the goal of restoring to the collective memory a little-known place that is deeply tied to Naples’ identity. Its history is intertwined with that of Pignasecca, a lively working-class neighborhood bustling daily with residents, students, workers, and travelers.

It is precisely through its dialogue with this context that the Pellegrini Museum Complex finds a new purpose: not a heritage site isolated for contemplation, but a place to be rediscovered alongside the neighborhood that surrounds it. Through art and history, the exhibition thus helps bring to light a lesser-known side of Naples, inviting those passing through Pignasecca to stop, step inside, and discover what has remained almost invisible for centuries.