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Externally, Santa Chiara in Naples is undoubtedly the most impressive of the group of Angevin monastic buildings in Naples. It was founded by Sancia di Maiorca, the queen of the Angevin King Robert. The church, begun in 1300 and substantially completed by 1328 was built by Gagliardo Primario. It is the largest Gothic church in the city, characterized by a monastery which includes four monumental cloisters and archaeological excavations.
In the interior there is a play of shapes similar to that in the exterior. It is not merely in plan but in three-dimensional terms that the lateral chapels are almost entirely contained within the tall, rectangular hall. The total height is stressed by the slim lancets in the upper wall, and since the chapels support no superstructure other than the wall that crowns their arcaded entrances, the galleries thus formed create a curious impression of internal viaducts leading nowhere.
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