The main decumanus is an important street of the historical center of Naples. Together with the lower and upper decumanus, it represents the main road of the ancient Greek city system. The road, urbanistically the most important of the three, is the heart of the decumanus of Naples. The decumanus, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1995, corresponds to Via dei Tribunali, moreover, it follows the ancient Greek road system. Because it has Greek origins, it would be more proper to name it "plateia", not "decumanus", since "decumanus" is a denomination belonging to the Roman period. The decumanus starts in Port'Alba and Piazza Bellini (which includes the first Greek walls of the historic center of Naples), continuing along Via San Pietro a Majella and Via Tribunali, which intersects with Via Duomo and it finishes in Castel Capuano. This is the reason why the street is called since the 16th century Via Tribunali (literally Street of the Courts). In fact, the Castel Capuano, since the beginning of the sixteenth century and by order of Don Pedro of Toledo, assumed the role of the court in the city. In a central location of Via Tribunali there is San Gaetano Square, which rises in the area of the Greek agora, which later became forum during the Roman period. In the square there are the entrances to Naples undergorund and to San Lorenzo ruins, which offer to visitors the attestation of the Greek origins of Naples. The street was severely disfigured at the Piazza Miraglia with the construction of the the Policlinico Hospital in the late 19th century. The construction of this Hospital, destroyed a huge amount of historic buildings, as cloisters, causing demage to the artistic and architectural heritage of the street. The decumanus is divided into two section: on the one hand a short section which starts in Port'Alba and San Pietro a Majella, on the other hand, Via Tribunali, that finishes in Forcella, in front of Capuano Castel. The squares crossed by Via Tribunali are: San Gaetano Square, which leads to San Gregorio Armeno, the "stenopos" that blends the main andthe lower decumanus on the one hand, and the Girolamini and Riario Sforzasquare on the other hand.
The main buildings of Via Tribunali are:
Santa Maria della Mercede Church and Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori;
Sant' Antonio delle Monache a Port'Alba Complex;
San Pietro a Majella Conservatory;
San Pietro a Majella Church;
Crocedi Lucca Church;
Pontano Chapel;
Santa Maria Maggiore alla Pietrasanta Church;
Spinelli di Laurino Palace;
Filippod'Angiò Palace;
San Paolo Maggiore Basilica;
San Lorenzo Maggiore Basilica;
Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco Church;
Girolamini Church;
Santa Maria della Colonna Church;
Cathedral of Naples (Duomo);
Caracciolo di Gioiosa Palace;
Pio Monte della Misericordia;
Santa Maria della Pace Church;
Santa Maria del Refugio Church;
San Tommaso a Capuana Church;
Monte dei Poveri Chapel;
Capuano Castle;
San Gaetano Obelisk;
San Gennaro Obelisk.
Worship buildings along Via Tribunali
In Via Tribunali there are many religious buildings. Among them there are: San Paolo Maggiore Basilica, San Lorenzo Maggiore Basilica and Girolamini Church. The San Paolo Maggiore Church arises where the Tample of Castor and Pollux was. The Basilica was built at the end of the 7th centuryin the area where the Greek agora was. The Church has three aisles and it houses works by Stanzione, Vaccaro and Solimena. In front of the San Paolo Maggiore Basilica there is San Lorenzo Maggiore Basilica, that is one of the oldest churches in Naples, in fact it was built in the 12th century. The church, which is described as a "graceful and beautiful temple" by the writer Boccaccio, according to its architecture of its apse can be considered a unique example in Italy, since it was built following the French Gotic style. Girolamini Church, because of historic, artistic and cultural reasons, can be considered the most important worship place in Naples. The Girolamini Complex houses the oldest library in the city and an important gallery where paintings of the 17thcentury are collected.