Archive Drawings of the Monastic Complex of Santa Maria della Vita in Naples. Reflections and Visualizations of the Original Plan Layout

Abstract

Through the critical analysis and investigation of archive drawings of the Church of Santa Maria della Vita in Naples, and by adopting a multi-scalar approach that integrates data of different nature (cartographic, textual, and graphic), this study aims to reconstruct the original plan layout of the Carmelite monastic complex up to its late 17th-century expansion.
Furthermore, the research seeks to provide an initial form of cultural accessibility (information and content) to an architectural complex that remains largely unknown to the local community, as its church is part of Naples’ religious heritage but is currently closed for worship. The objective is to represent the intrinsic values of this religious site and its contextualization within a hillside urban block characterized by different altitude levels. This approach aims to achieve a refined and scholarly survey operation, where the informed and mature management of graphic representation goes beyond mere data accuracy, allowing for hypotheses on the original spatial configuration.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.34.2025.17