Aiace e Cassandra by Jago, Naples, Italy
Aiace e
Cassandra
Jago · Carrara marble, 2022 · Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi
Photo: Jago (the artist’s own photo, posted 16 March 2023)
Ajax seizes the Trojan prophetess Cassandra. In Jago’s marble she pushes his jaw back with one hand while he grips her other wrist. The group stands in the Sanità church Jago first used as a studio, now the Jago Museum.
4 things to know
- She fights backJago says it shows a rape in which the woman, against expectations, “does not submit but fights as an equal.” He picked the scene because he had never seen it carved, and for personal reasons he says he can’t share. FS News · Artribune
- Carved before it had a placeIn May 2022 Jago was still carving the 3-metre group for Naples, at Fercam’s workshop outside Rome. Part of the challenge, he said, was working out where to put it. Artribune
- It came in a crateJago’s own photos, posted in March 2023, show a tall wooden crate stencilled FERCAM and JAGO standing in the nave of Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi, two months before the unveiling. Jago’s photo
- Look for the stoneJago calls a small stone the symbol that links his recent works, and says this group, the Pietà and the Veiled Son tell one story. Artsupp says Cassandra holds the stone in her hand; in Jago’s close-up clip her raised fist is shut and no stone shows. Artribune · Artsupp · Jago’s clip
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Jago Museum, in the church of Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi, Piazzetta Crociferi 4, at the entrance to the Borgo dei Vergini in the Rione Sanità, Naples (Catacombe di Napoli; ANSA).
- 🎟️
- Indoors, with a ticket. The artist’s museum page links to the Catacombe di Napoli ticket site.
- 🕒
- Hours as last published: Monday to Thursday 10:00–14:00; Friday to Sunday 10:00–14:00 and 15:00–19:00 (Catacombe di Napoli, page updated 26 August 2024; the same hours in Eroica Fenice, updated 18 September 2026). The artist’s site warns of a closure from 3 to 12 November, with no year given. Check before you go.
- 👀
- Inside, Visit Naples puts it in the centre of the nave and a 2023 video tour at the far end. The museum reopened with a new layout in December 2025, after six months of restoration (Repubblica).
- 🗿
- In the same church: Jago’s Pietà and Narciso, and since December 2025 his Natura Morta (ANSA).
Sightings
- 202211 May
Still being carved
- 2023Mar
Crate photo posted
- 202319 May
Unveiled
- 20232 Dec
Photo taken
- 202517 Dec
Listed on show
Every stamp links to the dated source.
On the record
Intervista a Jago, l’artista che scolpendo il marmo è diventato fenomeno mediatico
“La sto realizzando per Napoli, nel laboratorio fuori Roma di Fercam. È un’opera di 3 metri in marmo di Carrara”
“I’m making it for Naples, in Fercam’s workshop outside Rome. It’s a 3-metre work in Carrara marble.” Jago, asked about the group.
Jago Museum nella chiesa di Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi nel rione Sanità
“Il debutto del museo è stata l’occasione per presentare il nuovo gruppo scultoreo «Aiace e Cassandra» in cui Jago riflette sulla violenza di genere”
“The museum’s debut was the occasion to present the new sculptural group ‘Aiace e Cassandra’, in which Jago reflects on gender violence.” The paper dates the inauguration to the evening before, 19 May.
Dopo 40 anni riapre la Chiesa di Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi per l’apertura del Museo Jago
“In quest’occasione si svela per la prima volta il nuovo gruppo scultoreo di Aiace e Cassandra.”
“On this occasion the new sculptural group of Ajax and Cassandra is unveiled for the first time.” NapoliToday puts the inauguration at 18:00 that day, 20 May.
Il museo di Jago a Napoli
“Aiace e Cassandra illustra uno stupro ai danni di una donna che, contrariamente a quanto ci si aspetta, non si sottomette ma lotta alla pari”
“Aiace e Cassandra shows the rape of a woman who, against expectations, does not submit but fights as an equal.” Jago, quoted by Francesca Ventre.
Allo Jago Museum arriva ‘Natura Morta’, opera da 12 milioni di euro
“la chiesa di Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi dove sono già esposte numerose sculture, tra cui La Pietà, Narciso e Aiace e Cassandra”
“the church of Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi, where many sculptures are already on show, including the Pietà, Narciso and Aiace e Cassandra”
The facts
- Artist
- Jago (Jacopo Cardillo), Italian sculptor Checked
- Title
- Aiace e Cassandra; Aiace & Cassandra on the artist’s site; Ajax and Cassandra in English Checked
- Date
- Dated 2022 by the artist. Still being carved in May 2022; in the church by March 2023, when Jago posted photos of it there Checked
- Unveiled
- At the museum’s inauguration: 19 May 2023 in ANSA’s announcement, the evening of 19 May in Il Mattino’s report, 20 May at 18:00 in NapoliToday’s. The artist’s page lists it on show from 20 May Conflicting
- Medium
- Carrara statuario marble Checked
- Size
- 135 × 70 × 303 cm (width × depth × height), about 3 m tall Checked
- Place
- Jago Museum, church of Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi, Piazzetta Crociferi 4, Rione Sanità, Naples Checked
- The stone
- Artsupp says Cassandra has a stone in her hand, a symbol that recurs in Jago’s recent works. No photo or clip we found shows it Unconfirmed
- Bernini
- Artsupp sees a homage to Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina in the way a hand seems to sink into flesh, and an FS News writer makes the same comparison. No source we found quotes Jago saying so Unconfirmed
- Status
- On show. The artist’s page lists it at the museum from 20 May 2023 with no end date (page updated 7 August 2026, checked 29 September 2026). The latest dated press report is ANSA’s of 17 December 2025, which lists it among the works on show Reported
Help us finish this file
- Is there a stone in Cassandra’s fist? A close-up of the raised hand, or a word from the artist, would settle it.
- The day the group was finished and delivered to the church: some time between May 2022 and March 2023.
- Was it unveiled on the evening of 19 May or on 20 May 2023? A programme or invitation would settle it.
- Where it stands since the December 2025 re-hang: in the centre of the nave or at the far end? A dated visitor photo would tell.
- Whether one ticket still includes the Veiled Son at San Severo fuori le mura. The artist’s English museum page lists that display as ending on 21 December 2025; Catacombe di Napoli (page updated 2024) and Eroica Fenice (updated September 2026) still say the ticket covers it.
Know one of these, or have a dated photo? Leave a comment below.
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos vol. 2) (2026).
- One story, Jago says: his Pietà (2021), shown in the same church, and Figlio Velato (The Veiled Son, 2019) belong with this group. Artribune
- New in the same church: Natura Morta, on show since 20 December 2025. ANSA
All sources (18)
Artist
- Jago: “Aiace & Cassandra”. The artist’s catalogue page: year, marble, size, photos by Jago, on show at the Jago Museum from 20 May 2023. In English; also in Italian.
- Jago: “Jago Museum Napoli”. Ticket link, the November closure notice, the Veiled Son dates. In English. (archived copy)
- Jago: photo of the crate in the nave and close-up clip of the raised hand, both uploaded to jago.art on 16 March 2023.
Italian press
- Artribune: “Intervista a Jago, l’artista che scolpendo il marmo è diventato fenomeno mediatico”, 11 May 2022. Interview. In Italian.
- ANSA: “La chiesa Sant’Aspreno a Napoli riapre con la Pietà di Jago”, 10 May 2023. Inauguration on 19 May, public from 20 May. In Italian. (archived copy)
- Il Mattino (Giovanni Chianelli): “Jago Museum nella chiesa di Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi nel rione Sanità”, 20 May 2023. Partly paywalled. In Italian. (archived copy)
- NapoliToday (Antonia Fiorenzano): “Dopo 40 anni riapre la Chiesa di Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi per l’apertura del Museo Jago”, 20 May 2023. In Italian. (archived copy)
- FS News (Francesca Ventre): “Il museo di Jago a Napoli”, 11 September 2023. In Italian.
- ANSA Campania: “Allo Jago Museum arriva ‘Natura Morta’, opera da 12 milioni di euro”, 17 December 2025. In Italian. (archived copy)
- la Repubblica (video): “Lo Jago Museum riapre con ‘Natura Morta’: la nuova opera marmorea nell’allestimento rinnovato”, 19 December 2025. Reopening after six months of restoration. In Italian.
Museum, guides and catalogues
- Catacombe di Napoli: “Sant’Aspreno ai Crociferi — Jago Museum”, updated 26 August 2024. Address, hours, tickets. In Italian. (archived copy)
- Visit Naples: “The Jago Museum in Naples: the works of the artist at the Rione Sanità”. Undated. In English.
- Artsupp: “Ajax and Cassandra, work by Jacopo Cardillo, detto Jago”. Undated. The stone and the Bernini comparison. In English.
- Eroica Fenice (Francesco Pollio): “Jago museum Napoli: orari, biglietti e opere nel rione Sanità”, 14 July 2023, updated 18 September 2026. In Italian.
Photos, video and map
- andrea.sadori on Flickr: “Aiace e Cassandra”, taken 2 December 2023.
- lucamato (YouTube): “Napoli – Jago Museum”, 3 July 2023. Visitor’s walk-through.
- Con Magazine (YouTube): “A Napoli una chiesa diventa museo e ospita le opere di Jago”, 9 October 2023. In Italian.
- OpenStreetMap: Nominatim search for the church. Coordinates for the map button.
Artwork File · Last checked 29 September 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files