At the foot of the Lattari Mountains, in what is now the town of lovers, stands the Church of San Giacomo Maggiore. The history of this building, born in the countryside in the 16th century and then rebuilt in the heart of the town, intertwines faith, art and the deep devotion to St. Valentine.
Origins and history of St. James Church
The first church dedicated to St. James was built in St. Valentine around 1511, in the rural locality of Starza, outside the town. In 1758, with the consent of Duke Ferdinand Capece Minutolo and the bishop of Sarno, the community decided to build a new church in the center of the town, demolishing the chapel of St. Sebastian.
The new building, dedicated to St. James the Greater, was completed within a few decades, and the parish title was transferred from the Starza to the new building.
Between 1804 and 1813 the exterior work was completed, with the scenic piperno block staircase. The lava stone steps, arranged “in a peacock’s tail,” create a theatrical forecourt connecting the church to the main square.
Architecture and artistic heritage
The rigorous and balanced facade features an elegant tabernacle portal flanked by an imposing Doric order of columns and pilasters. The interior has a single-nave layout, enriched by a beautifully preserved wooden pulpit of great quality.
The most valuable work housed in the church is the polyptych by Andrea Sabatini da Salerno, a masterpiece of the Campania Renaissance made in 1511, the year the original church was founded. The central panel depicts Our Lady of Grace with Child, surrounded by putti rescuing the souls in Purgatory; in the side panels appear St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Michael the Archangel, and St. Sebastian.
Some panels, such as the Ascension and Resurrection, were added in the 17th century, showing the evolution of taste over the centuries and the long history of devotion attached to the work.
Next to the polyptych, the church holds an object that draws pilgrims and visitors from all over Italy: the right arm of St. Valentine. The relic, donated in 1963 by the Capece Minutolo dukes, is kept in a 16th-century silver reliquary placed under the altar. According to tradition, lovers pray before the reliquary to ask for protection and strengthen their bond. The relic’s presence has strengthened the appellation “city of lovers” and is the focus of celebrations that culminate on Feb. 14, which are joined by the historic festival of the purpetta ‘e pastenaca (carrot meatball), and the more recent “Saint Valentine in Love” festival-fair, which has been attracting an increasingly large audience in recent years.
