Located in what was once a tuff rock quarry in one of the oldest and most traditional districts of Naples, Rione Sanità, the Cemetery delle Fontanelle conserved the bodies of those who could not afford a burial and of the victims of the epidemics that periodically struck the city. The ossuary is well known because it was the setting for the ritual of the anime pezzentelle: where a Neapolitan resident would adopt the cranium of an abandoned spirit in return for protection. Extending over 3,000 m2, the Cemetery is divided into 3 trapezoid galleries known as “naves” which are 10-15m high and hundreds of metres long, linked by lateral corridors. Piles of skulls, tibias and femurs can be found heaped in the aisles flanking each nave.
Film Commission Regione Campania
Piazza G. Bovio, 14 — 80133 Napoli
Phone: +39 0814206091
Fax: +39 0817904221
Email: info@fcrc.it
