The cult of San Gennaro in the village of Antignano

San Gennaro, bishop of Benevento and martyr in 305 AD, is undoubtedly the patron saint par excellence in Naples. However, the city boasts as many as 52 patrons, including Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Cajetan of Thiene, and Saint Patricia, who, unlike San Gennaro, performs the miracle of the liquefaction of blood every Tuesday, in the chapel dedicated to her, at San Gregorio Armeno. However, few remember Saint Patricia, while San Gennaro is celebrated three times a year, with great pomp, that is, precisely the three times his blood liquefies. To be completely honest, there is no scientific evidence proving that the liquid contained in the ampoules, kept in the Chapel of the Treasury in the Cathedral, is actually his blood. However, it has been observed that the liquid reacts to sunlight just like blood. But the scientific component does not have much relevance for Neapolitans. You know what they say... "It's not true, but I believe it!"
The patron saint died in Pozzuoli, in the square of the Solfatara, where he was beheaded. He had escaped death twice, managing to tame the wild beasts in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, and coming out unscathed from the fire into which he had been thrown. The third time, however, was truly impossible: zap, they cut off his head! His relics, however, as well as his blood, were saved and later brought to Naples. Today they are kept in the crypt and in the Chapel of the Treasury of the cathedral.
This is why, on three occasions, namely September 19 (the date of his death), December 16 (because on December 16, 1631, San Gennaro saved the city of Naples from the eruption of Vesuvius), and the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, the so-called MIRACLE occurs: the blood contained in the ampoules liquefies. If it happens, it is a good omen for the year, and the procession starts through the streets of downtown Naples, but if it does not happen, catastrophes are predicted for the city. Even if it happens late, well, it is not a good sign...
By now, this story has been going on for centuries, and every year Neapolitans anxiously await the moment of liquefaction.
 Do you know where the first liquefaction of San Gennaro's blood, placed next to his relics, took place? Right in Antignano, next to the church of San Gennaro ad Antignano, where this plaque was placed in 1941. As for the date of the first miracle, an ancient document reports the date of August 17, 1389, and to this day this seems the most likely hypothesis. The most well-known places of the cult of San Gennaro are in the historic center of Naples, where there is the cathedral, the house where he was born, the Museum of the Treasury, etc. Few know, however, that in the area of Antignano and Vomero there are as many as three churches dedicated to the saint: San Gennaro ad Antignano, San Gennaro al Vomero, and the Piccola Pompei, also called San Gennariello. The latter is the smallest, and also the oldest (12th century).