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We are lucky, we must admit: we were born and raised in Naples, a city that takes you away from many things, a city of faith and superstition, a city of art expressed in all its forms, from the oldest to the most modern. Naples is a city in which a strong illegality and a strong morality live together almost as a paradox, a city rich in history and also of legends, sometimes ostentatious, sometimes hidden and precisely this side so secret and intimate is what fascinates us more and more. We have repeatedly gone underground to tell you about an ancient Naples, a Naples that jealously preserves centuries of history, the succession of peoples and dominations, the infection of ingenuity and genius. Today we reveal to you another secret of the city of contrasts: welcome to the fontanelle cemetery.
We are in the Sanità district, a place better known for the sad events of black news than for the history that over the centuries has crossed these alleys; in fact at the entrance of the fountain cemetery there are not many people, some family tourists, some students, certainly not the usual group of Germans or Japanese armed with expensive SLRs.
This place of about 3000sqm is quiet, humid and the lights are low, warm, some places almost dark. There is silence and a respectful and sacred atmosphere. The scenery that opens up in front of our eyes is very suggestive. Skulls and bones everywhere, positioned neatly and precisely. But to whom do they belong and why is the fountain cemetery born?
]Originally, what is now called by the Neapolitans “cemetery of the capuzzelle” (the capuzzelle in Naples are precisely the skulls), it was a quarry from which the Neapolitan yellow tuff that was used for construction was extracted. In 1656 Naples was also hit by the plague and in 1836 by cholera, so the quarry was used as a common burial of the victims. Added to these were the poorest people who could not afford a better burial. Over time, the bones from the earth and other excavations such as those of Via Acton (near the Angevin Male) were added.
It is said that there are about 40,000 capuzzelle.
It is mistakenly believed that among the bones of the cemetery there are also those of Giacomo Leopardi, illustrious victim of cholera of 1836. In fact his remains are kept in the Vergiian Park that we told you about here and rest with those of the poet Virgil.
The right aisle is the aisle of priests. The one in the center is instead dedicated to the hangings of which, what immediately strikes is that sort of ossoteca at the center of which there is the statue of the Risen Christ.
On the right are the so-called little souls, the remains of the poorest people, of whom little and nothing was known.
The city of Naples, as has often happened in history, has not limited itself to guarding these remains, its people have become an integral part of the place thanks to the cult of the little souls.
Some skulls are in fact jealously guarded in marble display cases or in more humble biscuit boxes. They are ecided first name, surname given… this is because the Neapolitan people, especially in the post-war period, used to adopt one of these skulls without identity and give it a dignified burial, almost as if they were ex-vow by grace received. Everyone chose their own skull, cleaned it up, looked after it until it revealed its identity in a dream, becoming the protector of the one who had taken care of it. Another belief, for which an “accommodation” was offered to the skull, was that the soul, if cared for in the right way, could give the winning numbers to the lot in a dream. But if that didn’t happen, well then you would change skulls and hoping it would be the winning one. Rosaries, cigarette butts, ink-written marks on the skull were the signs of that soul’s reservation. That’s why the Cardinal of Naples forbade his cult, now on the edge of superstition, in 1969.
In addition to the countless amount of skulls and bones, what strikes are some things in particular;
In the dim light, just illuminated by a faint beam of light, a headless statue, the statue of St. Vincent Ferrer. A little further on three large crosses of skulls: this is called the Court. It seems that at one time, the leaders of the Camorra met before the Court for Alliances and Pacts.
Again, in the central nave we are struck by Calvary,a mountain of skulls that seems to symbolize Mount Golgota which in Aramaic means place of the skull.
Then some embalmed remains, including that of Margherita Petrucci wife of Filippo Carafa Count of Cerreto dei Dukes of Maddaloni, who died, according to legend, suffocated by a dumpling.
Finally the chapel of Father Gaetano Barbati, the one who together with the women of the neighborhood took care of “tidying up” the fontanelle cemetery at the end of the 1800s.
Among the thousand legends circulating around this place and the myriad of prayers and supplications written on notes scattered here and the… perhaps what strikes us most is this:
We do not know who is the author of the ticket, certainly modern, perhaps written absent-mindedly and quickly. We know, however, that this is perhaps the only certainty we have in a place of mystery and nameless souls. Beyond rites, superstition and faith this is the message that we like to take home, the message to reflect on after the visit to the fontanelle cemetery.
USEFUL INFO
The fontanelle cemetery is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
The last entrance is at 16:30
Admission is free, for a guided tour you have to book on the official website.
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