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Photo: Dominik Matus, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
These caves in the hillside of Materdei contain a vast ossuary. As of 3/2026 it is still closed for longer renovations. The opening has been delayed for years, so the current prediction of a possible re-opening in 2026 should be taken with a grain of salt.
The Fontanelle cemetery in Naples is a charnel house, an ossuary, located in a cave in the tuff hillside in the Materdei section of the city. It is associated with a chapter in the folklore of the city. By the time the Spanish moved into the city in the early 16th century, there was already concern over where to locate cemeteries, and moves had been taken to locate graves outside of the city walls. Many Neapolitans, however, insisted on being interred in their local churches. To make space in the churches for the newly interred, undertakers started removing earlier remains outside the city to the cave, the future Fontanelle cemetery. The remains were interred shallowly and then joined in 1656 by thousands of anonymous corpses, victims of the great plague of that year.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A catacombe area where macabre ritual of "draining" was performed. A few remains of skulls in the walls, parts of skeletons and wall paintings are shown. Also the history of the "upstairs" church is shortly showcased.
If you are in Naples during the summer, you can experience the cinema beneath the stars on warm nights, in an amphiteatre equipped with one of the widest projection screens in Italy which rises having an artificial lake all around.
An extensive, two floor catacombs area restored and maintained by a few dozen local-patriots. Misc. tombs, frescoes, mosaics, etc., are shown.
Museo archeologico nazionale di Napoli, MANN
The most important Italian archaeological museum about Roman civilization, it contains a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum. The collection includes works of the highest quality produced in Greek, Roman and Renaissance times.
Bellini Theatre
Built in 1878 and named after the Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini, the Bellini Theatre hosted prestigious events such as operas for almost a century. In 1960s a period of decline started for the structure, that became a sort of cheap movie cinema, away from the splendor of its origins. In 1986 the theatre was restored and reopened two years later, starting a lucky phase that lasts even today.
Palace of the Spaniard
A late-baroque palace built in 1738 in Rione Sanità, famous for its monumental courtyard staircases with arches in shifting places.