Catacombs of San Gennaro

The Catacombs of San Gennaro are the largest and most important in southern Italy, and among the most beautiful anywhere. Dug into the tuff hillside of Capodimonte from the second century, they grew around the tomb of a noble family and then, after the remains of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, were brought here in the fifth century, became a place of pilgrimage. Unlike the narrow passages of the Roman catacombs, these are spacious: two levels of broad galleries and vestibules, with wall tombs (loculi), arched tombs (arcosolia) and family chambers (cubicula), many decorated with frescoes and mosaics that span several centuries of early Christian art. Among the highlights are the portraits of the deceased on tomb walls, a Crypt of the Bishops with its glittering mosaic portraits, and an early image associated with San Gennaro himself. The catacombs also contain a basilica dug into the rock, which gives a sense of the scale of worship here. What makes the visit special is also its present: the site is managed by a cooperative of young people from the Rione Sanità, the historic, once-troubled neighbourhood below, whose work restoring and opening the catacombs became a celebrated model of community regeneration. The guides are knowledgeable, passionate and often from the neighbourhood itself, and the tour is as much about the Sanità today as about the dead of fifteen centuries ago. Visits are by guided tour only, run daily in Italian and English, and last a little under an hour. The entrance is beside the large domed Basilica of the Madre del Buon Consiglio on the road up to Capodimonte.

Getting there: the entrance is on Via Capodimonte, beside the Basilica of the Madre del Buon Consiglio, a short bus or taxi ride uphill from the Archaeological Museum, or a steep but rewarding walk up through the Sanità. Tours leave throughout the day; skip-the-line guided tour tickets are available through Tiqets, and combined options add the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, a smaller, stranger site beneath the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, where the skulls of the dead were once set into the walls above painted bodies. Booking ahead is wise at weekends and holidays. The tour is gentle — some steps but no tight passages — and suitable for most ages, though it is not fully accessible.

After the tour, many visitors exit downhill through the Sanità rather than heading straight back to the centre, and this is the best way to do it. The neighbourhood is one of the most authentic in Naples: Baroque palaces with flying staircases such as Palazzo dello Spagnolo and Palazzo Sanfelice, the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità with its raised altar, street markets, tiny workshops and pizzerias, and the birthplace of the great comic actor Totò. The cooperative also runs neighbourhood walks that combine the catacombs with these sights, an excellent introduction.

Pair the catacombs with the Archaeological Museum below or Capodimonte above, making a half-day that rises from the classical world through early Christianity to the Renaissance paintings at the top of the hill. It is a quieter, more reflective visit than the Naples Underground, and for many travellers it becomes one of the most memorable hours of the trip. Bring a light layer, as the galleries stay cool all year, and allow time afterward for coffee and a pastry in the Sanità, where your ticket money also supports the cooperative's work with local young people.