On Saturday 18 April the Fontanelle Cemetery reopens to the public after almost six years of closure. The site, in the heart of the Sanità district, had been stopped for safety works and restoration of the tuff cave that hosts it. “We are reopening forever,” said Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.
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The fascinating underground ossuary dug into the tuff, which houses thousands of bones and skulls of people who died mainly due to famines and large epidemics (such as the plague of 1656), is finally open to visitors again. The cemetery, very different from the traditional ones, is also known because the so-called rite of the “pezzentelle souls” took place here, which involved adopting and placing, in exchange for protection, a skull which corresponded to an abandoned soul (called “pezzentella”).
The inauguration will start at 9am from Largo Totò with a march of communities – schools, parishes, associations – up to the entrance of the site. Mayor Manfredi and the archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Mimmo Battaglia will be present. The day will be free entry until 6pm.
The project
The recovery is the result of a public-private partnership between the Municipality of Naples and the La Paranza Cooperative: 640 thousand euros of private funds – half from the Foundation with the South, half from the San Gennaro Community Foundation – and 200 thousand euros allocated by the Municipality for safety measures. Part of the project is part of Renzo Piano’s G124 plan, with four architects under 35 from the Federico II University involved in the redevelopment of the outdoor spaces.
Useful information
When: from April 18th
Where: Via Fontanelle 80, Naples
Days and times: every day from 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry at 17:15), closed on Wednesdays. On Mondays and Fridays the Cemetery is open for worship and accessible for prayer in the dedicated area from 9:00 to 10:00.
Official website: booking for visits on cemeteryadellefontanelle.it
