Italy · Naples · 14 pictures
Fontanelle Cemetery
Cimitero delle Fontanelle
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About this place
The site was a quarry from which tuff was cut as building stone for Naples. When the city's churches ran out of room for burials, the caves became a burial ground. Use of the site is documented for 1656, the year of the great plague, and later the victims of the cholera epidemic of 1836 and 1837 were added. The name refers to the springs in the district.
In 1872 Canon Gaetano Barbati reorganised the remains, which are now spread across three halls. In this period the cult of the "anime pezzentelle", the poor, nameless souls, took shape. Families adopted a skull, cared for it and asked the soul for help, praying for it in return. In 1969 the Church authorities forbade this individual cult.
The site stayed closed for a long time. In 2010 it reopened after an initiative by residents of the district. After a further closure it has been accessible again since April 2026 and is run jointly by the City of Naples and the cooperative La Paranza. It is a place of remembrance for people whose names are mostly lost. The City of Naples publishes the rules for access.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Fontanelle Cemetery?
It is in the Rione Sanità district of Naples, at Via delle Fontanelle 80. The City of Naples and the operator publish current access rules.
What is the Fontanelle Cemetery?
An ossuary in a former tuff quarry. The dead come mainly from times of epidemic, including the plague of 1656 and the cholera of 1836 and 1837.
What are the "anime pezzentelle"?
They are the "poor souls", nameless dead. Until the individual cult was banned in 1969, families adopted a skull, tended it and asked its soul for protection.