Catacombs of San Gennaro
Beneath the Rione Sanità neighbourhood, the tuff rock opens into a city that has been accumulating its dead — and its stories — since the second century AD. The corridors are tall enough to feel almost civic, nothing like the cramped Roman catacombs you may have elsewhere encountered, and the ceilings of the lower level reach six metres in places, carved from volcanic stone that is both soft enough to cut and strong enough to hold.
What draws people down here is not just the scale but the specificity: a bishop's chair carved directly into rock, an altar with an opening so the faithful could reach through and touch a saint's tomb, fifth-century frescoes of two women named Bitalia and Cerula holding Gospel codices.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to linger on the frescoes longer the second time — Bitalia and Cerula in particular, painted sometime between the fifth and sixth centuries, feel oddly present. The guided tour is not optional (entry requires it), but the guides here are from Cooperativa La Paranza, a local social enterprise rooted in the neighbourhood, and that shows in how the history is told.
The story behind Catacombs of San Gennaro
The site began as a private family tomb in the second century, then expanded in the fourth century when the remains of St. Agrippinus — Naples's first patron saint — were deposited in an underground basilica carved from tuff. A second, larger basilica with three naves followed in the fifth century, built to receive the bones of San Gennaro, bishop of Benevento, who had been beheaded in Pozzuoli in 305 AD and brought to Naples by Bishop John I.
The catacombs became a pilgrimage destination, then suffered centuries of looting between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. San Gennaro's remains were stolen by the Lombard prince Sico I in 831 and did not return until 1497, after negotiations with the monks of Montevergine. The site was reopened in 1969, excavations resumed in 1971, and in the early 2000s Father Loffredo and Cooperativa La Paranza took over management, threading the tunnels with a LED lighting system installed in 2009 by a youth organisation from the neighbourhood above.
Good to know
Tours run hourly from 10am, Monday to Sunday except Wednesday; last admission at 5pm. Photography is not permitted inside. Bring a light layer — the underground holds steady between 15 and 22°C year-round. Your ticket also covers a future visit to the nearby Catacombs of San Gaudioso within 12 months.
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What travellers say about Catacombs of San Gennaro
Very interesting visit even though it is a rather short experience. Does not venture deep in the catacombs. Not cold btw. Just refreshingly cool. (Make sure you visit the next catacomb 500m away.) The 3km walk from port to capodimonte was well worth it!!
Great tour, full of history. Nello was a great tour guide, and was excited to answer additional questions and we got so much extra history and facts this way. The tour itself is already very thorough. The catacombs are beautiful and interesting. At the end of the tour, he described how opening the catacombs has affected the Neighbourhood and we really enjoyed hearing him talk about that, he is clearly passionate about the work that they do. Definitely support this program and take a really cool tour! If you want an English tour, I would buy tickets online because some people didn’t do that and they ended up buying tickets to the Italian speaking tour just to see it as there were no more spots in the English tour.
Incredible place. Staff are so knowledgeable and sweet. They are working so hard to change the lives of the local people and the history in the catacombs is otherworldly. I learnt so much. We went on a whim and had to wait over an hour for the next tour. You cannot go around the catacombs without a guide! Book online in advance to save all the waiting around.
These catacombs are much wider than others, so if you have a fear for small spaces, don't worry! They also don't go under ground but stay in the rock formation. It was a super interesting tour and everything is very well kept. Don't expect to see bodies as they have been removed hundreds of years ago.
excellent English language tour of a fascinating history of the city. Knowledgeable & engaging tour host. Excellent value as ticket also includes entrance to catacombs of san Gaudioso & €1 admission to another museum. Each tour was one hour. I’ve been to Napoli lots of times but learned so much new information. Run by a social co-operative providing training & work for a young, passionate & engaging staff team. More places due to open as more restoration takes place.
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