During this tour we’ll visit the Catacombs of Saint Gennaro and Saint Gaudioso and the Cemetery of the Fontanelle. They are placed in the heart of Naples.
La Sanità
There is a district in Naples called La Sanità. This is a very popular area, where the real Neapolitans are used to live.
At the beginning of the 19th century the French king Joachim Murat decided to build a bridge to link the city center with the Royal Palace of Capodimonte. This bridge passed over the area of La Sanità. Since that moment La Sanità became a secondary area of the city, losing its importance.
Nowadays a tour of La Sanità is really interesting. Here you can see something typical of the primitive Neapolitan tradition. You have the opportunity to go back to the Early Christian age. In fact to know the history of Gennaro and Gaudioso we have to go back to the Roman times.
Catacombs of Gennaro and Gaudioso
Let me tell you about the history of these two saints.
Gennaro came from Benevento to Naples to help some of his Christian friends. In fact these martyrs were persecuted by the Roman emperor of that time, Diocletian. The torturers tried to kill Gennaro in many ways. Anyway, according to the legend, because of a miracle Gennaro got saved in the Amphitheater of Pozzuoli, close to Naples. And he came out alive even when they tried to burn him in a kiln. Finally he was tortured and beheaded.
The remains of Gennaro were put in the Catacombs in Capodimonte. Later, the Lombards stole these remains and carried them to Benevento, the city Gennaro was from. Anyway, nowadays the remains of Gennaro are in the Cathedral of Naples.
Gaudioso was a martyr as well as Gennaro. In this tour we’ll see the catacombs of Gennaro and Gaudioso. In these catacombs a lot of important Neapolitan bishops were buried too. There are still remains of people bones and skulls.
Cemetery of Fontanelle
During the history in Naples there were a lot of problems like pestilences, poverty and eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. One of the biggest tragedies was the pestilence of 1656. Almost two hundred thousand people died because of this tragedy in Naples.
The Cemetery of the Fontanelle was working already in the 18th century. Anyway it became an official cemetery only in the 19th century. I told you about the big pestilence to explain you how many dead people there were in Naples. The Cemetery of the Fontanelle was created to contain all these skeletons.
The conception of death in Naples is very ancient. In Naples, in some people opinion, there is a relationship between believers and dead people. If I were a believer, I would take you gifts to get your protection in exchange. Moreover, if I were a believer, I would pray God to make you go faster to paradise. It’s a sort of exchange, a sort of communication between believers and dead people. That’s why, if you come to the Cemetery of Fontanelle, you will see a lot of objects close to the skulls. These objects represent gifts to the dead people. You can see necklaces, small bibles, even playing cards and bus tickets. Everything is accepted.
Anyway, I will explain you the details during the tour.
Let me just tell you that this is the most fascinating tour in the hearth of Naples!