The hall was built in 1690 to house a now lost collection of very rich objects belonging to the Dominicans and the hearts of Charles of Anjou, Alfonso I, and Ferrante.
The hearts were kept in large silver cases which, during the French rule, along with many other objects preserved in the “Treasury,” were melted down, consigning the hearts contained within to an unknown fate.
The Treasure Hall, after the restorations carried out for the Jubilee of 2000, hosts a permanent exhibition of objects, divided into 4 thematic sections, corresponding to four monumental wooden cabinets.
The cabinets, made of walnut wood, are the work of cabinetmaker Francesco Antonio Picchiatti (1749). The decoration of the doors follows the ornamental style of the floor, a splendid example of majolica terracotta, made by the Massa brothers, who also created the majolica tiles of the Santa Chiara cloister.
The sections
The Aragonese chests: in this cabinet, the most extraordinary specimens collected in the Treasure Hall are displayed. At the end of the 1980s, the clothing, dating between the 15th and 16th centuries, worn by the mummies placed in the sepulchral chests, kept and exhibited in the adjacent Sacristy, were taken from the bodies, restored, and later exhibited. A glimpse into the costume history of the 1400s is reconstructed through damask garments, veils and silk cushions, sheaths, daggers, coats of arms of the Aragonese family and some members of the court nobility.
The processions: on the northwest wall, intended to house the sacred objects carried in procession during the religious festivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, the statues of the main Dominican saints are gathered among vases and halos. The processional busts, currently displayed in the hall, replicate the originals in silver, which were melted down during the French decade and therefore lost.
The Treasure: on the northeast wall of the Hall dedicated to the actual “Treasure,” the most precious liturgical apparatuses owned by the Dominican friars are preserved: altar frontal panels, chasubles in gold and multicolored silks, copes in 17th and 18th-century brocaded lampas.
The sacred furnishings: in this cabinet, among other sacred objects, a splendid rock crystal cross and one of the cloths, entirely handmade, donated by the D’Aquino family to the Basilica, are displayed.
