There are places in Naples you visit with your head held high, gazing at domes and frescoes, and others where you descend, quite literally, into the city's memory. The Catacombs of San Gaudioso belong to the second kind: we entered from the church in the heart of the Rione Sanità and came out feeling we had understood a little more about the relationship, unique in the world, that Neapolitans have with their dead. Here's what awaits you.
A bishop from Africa
The story begins in the 5th century with Septimius Caelius Gaudiosus, bishop of Abitina, a town in North Africa near Carthage, in present-day Tunisia. During the persecutions by the Vandals under King Genseric, Gaudiosus left his homeland by sea and landed in Naples around 439.
In the city he founded a monastery and became known for his holiness. He died around the middle of the 5th century and was buried in this part of the Sanità valley, where a Greco-Roman necropolis already existed. Around his tomb grew a Christian cemetery carved into the tuff, which took its name from him.
The galleries were dug between the 4th and 5th centuries: only part of them survives today, because the area was profoundly transformed in the following centuries, but what remains is enough to leave a lasting impression.
You enter from the Basilica della Sanità
The entrance is beneath the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, built between 1602 and 1610 to a design by the Dominican friar Giuseppe Nuvolo. Before going down, we suggest looking up at the main dome, covered in yellow and green majolica tiles, and noticing the raised presbytery: it was built this way precisely to leave room underneath for the ancient early Christian crypt.
We found this passage from the light of the Baroque church to the half-darkness of the galleries very moving: in just a few steps you cross more than a thousand years of history.
Early Christian frescoes and mosaics
The oldest part preserves traces of decoration from the first centuries: fragments of frescoes from the 5th–6th centuries, including figures of saints such as Saint Peter and Saint Sossius, and remains of a 6th-century mosaic linked to Gaudiosus's burial. The image of the Madonna della Sanità also dates from that period; the basilica above is dedicated to her, and the whole neighbourhood takes its name from her.
The walls of some rooms, on the other hand, were decorated much later, around 1700, by Bernardino Fera, a pupil of Francesco Solimena, with stories of martyrs. That's the beauty of this place: every room mixes wildly different eras.
Draining niches and skulls in the wall: the 17th century
The part that struck us most, and that usually strikes everyone, concerns the 17th century. At that time the Dominican friars used the galleries for a particular funeral rite: the bodies were placed in seat-shaped niches, the cantarelle or scolatoi, where they were left to dry out.
Once the process was over, the skull was walled into the rock face and, below it, the body of the deceased was painted with the clothes and attributes that indicated their social role or profession. It was a burial reserved for wealthy families, and walking among these "portraits" with a real skull in place of the face is quite an experience. The practice was later abandoned, partly for reasons of hygiene.
During the great plague of 1656 the tuff quarries in the area became open-air cemeteries: a bond with death you'll find again, a short walk from here, in the Fontanelle Cemetery: between beliefs and truth.
A visit that helps the neighbourhood
The catacombs can be visited with a guide, on a single route together with the Catacombs of San Gennaro in Capodimonte. They are run by young people from the Rione Sanità who have joined together in the cooperative La Paranza, and who over the years have turned these places into a driver of jobs and renewal for the neighbourhood. We really liked this too: the guide tells you about the underground, but also about the lives of those who live above it today.
To complete the picture, read The Catacombs of San Gennaro, the city's most famous early Christian complex, and The miracle of San Gennaro to understand how alive the cult of the saints still is in the city.
Getting there and when to go
The basilica overlooks Piazza Sanità, in the Stella district. The easiest way is to walk to the neighbourhood from the Museo (Line 1) or Piazza Cavour (Line 2) metro stations, along Via Foria and then down into the Sanità: you'll be there in a few minutes. We advise against driving, as the streets of the neighbourhood are narrow and congested.
Inside, the temperature is fairly constant, so the visit works in any season; in summer it also offers a little coolness. Tours start at set times: check opening times and tickets on the official website before you go. After the visit we recommend a stroll around the neighbourhood, among 18th-century palazzi and lively alleyways.
Nearby
- The Catacombs of San Gennaro: the other great early Christian complex, included on the same route.
- Fontanelle Cemetery: between beliefs and truth: the ossuary in the tuff linked to the cult of the "anime pezzentelle".
- The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN): a few minutes' walk away, towards Via Foria.
- The Museum and Royal Park of Capodimonte: up the hill, art and greenery.
- Naples and its surroundings: our guide to planning your trip in the city and the province.
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