Saint Gennaro Bust

On the evening of December 16, 1646, three days after the inauguration of the Royal Chapel of the Treasury of San Gennaro and on the occasion of the third miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro, the gold reliquary bust of San Gennaro, dating back to 1305, was transferred from the old chapel of the Treasury to the new one. The bust was commissioned from master goldsmiths Etienne Godefroy, head of the court goldsmith's workshop, Guillaume de Verdelay, and Milet d'Auxerre, by King Charles II of Anjou for the ceremonies marking the thousandth anniversary of the martyr's beheading in 305 AD. Thirty-one oncees and eleven tarì were paid for between July 10 and August 31, 1304. The exquisitely crafted figure was crafted from silver and gold and adorned with a rich chasuble set with precious stones and enamels depicting the Angevin heraldic insignia. In 1712, the Deputation of the Royal Chapel of the Treasury decided to adorn the reliquary bust with a gold and silver miter (or miter), entrusting the creation to Neapolitan goldsmith Matteo Treglia. After just one year of work, in 1713, he delivered a masterpiece comprising approximately 3,694 diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. The miter is considered one of the ten wonders of the Treasure of San Gennaro and one of the most precious objects in the world.