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Monday, September 12, 2022
Today was a slow day. We went out for lunch at a local restaurant – you know the one with the kitchen across the street. This time we split a pizza with prosciutto along with an order of fried polenta with ciciouli. Afterwards we walked up to the Corso and bought some interesting looking pastries for dessert. Two were run soaked babas filled and covered with Nutella, the other two babas had white cream, and the last two were choux pastries with another sort of cream. They were delicious. At €3.50 for all six we’re going to go back to that bakery again and again. 😎
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Today we visited The Catacombs of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples. Greek and Roman law dictated that burials could not take place inside a city so cemeteries were built outside of the ancient city walls. These catacombs were built high up on Capodimonte Hill. Naples has three sets of catacombs named for Saint Gennaro, Saint Gaudiosis, and Saint Severo. Cost of entry was €11.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. Separate tours are given in English and in Italian.
While we waited for our tour to begin we checked out the large church next to the visitor’s center: The Basilica dell’Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio (The Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Council). The interior, in Renaissance style, was a smaller version of Saint Peter’s Basilica. There was beautiful statuary, fine paintings, lovely mosaics, and even a richly decorated central dome. The church contained high quality copies of Michaelangel’s Pieta and Moses. Lovely vases with fresh flowers had been placed all about in anticipation of a wedding ceremony.
The Catacombs of San Gennaro originated in the fourth Century BC and were built from tuff stone, a light porous material that comes from volcanic ash. At that time the burials were pagan. Agrippinus, the first patron saint of Naples, was buried there in the 2nd Century AD. He was interred on the original, lower level, of the structure. A church dedicated to him was consecrated near his tomb. The tombs were expanded to allow others to be buried as close to him as possible.
Saint Gennaro was born in the 3rd Century AD. He came from a rich family and by the time he was 20 he was already bishop of Naples. He was martyred during a time of Christian persecution coinciding with the reign of Diocletian. The catacombs were consecrated to Saint Gennaro in the 5th Century AD when his remains were interred there. This caused many more people to want to be buried there and the site was further expanded. The catacombs were used mainly for the burials of Neapolitan Bishops until the 11th Century AD. Between the 13th and 18th Centuries AD the catacombs were looted and during World War II they were used as a bomb shelter. Starting in 1981 the site was subject to archeological excavations and eventually was opened to the public. All of the human remains have been removed. Most were deposited in the nearby Cemetery of the Fountain. Saint Gennaro’s remains were moved to the Cathedral of Naples (The Duomo) in the 9th Century AD.
We walked down a number of flights of stairs to get to the entryway. Unlike the catacombs we’d seen in Rome these caves were much wider and had higher ceilings. All along the walls there were niches carved out where bodies had once been laid to rest. The niches would have been covered with marble slabs. We were directed to observe some larger cutouts where small family chapels had been. Inside there was space for many burials. Many large remnants of frescos could still be seen.
Further down was the remnants of a church. We could see the arches that had defined the space and could make out where the altar had once been. Near the end of the passage there was more large frescos above where Saint Gennaro had been buried. These frescos featured several saints along with the monks who’d built this section. Next we went outside, down some more stairs, and entered the original, lower level of the complex.
To the right of the entrance we could see the burial spot for Agrippinus and the small church that had been consecrated to him. This site is still consecrated and services occasionally take place there on special occasions. We saw evidence that the church had been expanded over the years and found high arches where more fresco remnants could be seen.
Off to the left of the entrance was the place where Saint Gennaro had been buried. Between the two burials there was a corridor that contained many niches and several chapels. We walked down as far as we could. Several of the chapels had beautiful frescos. The entire catacomb would once have been richly decorated with fine marble, carved columns, and all sorts of frescos. During the excavations hundreds of oil lamps and other artifacts had been found. Very few of the original decorations survived.
Lastly we entered an adjacent church that originally dated from the 3rd Century AD named Basilica di San Gennaro fuori le mura (The Basilica of Saint Gennaro Outside the Walls). Our guide told us that the church had been redecorated many times over the centuries. Until the 1930s it was richly decorated in the Baroque style. During the Fascist era the decision was made to restore the church to its 3rd Century AD appearance. All of the Baroque decorations were unceremoniously destroyed. The few remnants that had been found were on display.
Our guide explained to us that these tours were vitally important to the surrounding area. The neighborhood, known as the Sanita District, was where the very poor lived. The money collected from the tours and the increased tourist traffic helped contribute to the revitalization of the district. He thanked us for our support and informed us that our tickets would allow us entry to The Catacombe di San Gaudioso at no extra cost.
Afterwards we walked through an arch that was richly decorated with frescos. This next building, which had once been a monastery, had been converted to a public hospital in the late 1800s. We walked downhill, through the Sanita District, in search of a place to have lunch. Not finding any we continued for a ways until we found a suitable restaurant on Via Toledo. We found a lovely outdoor cafe whose tables were shaded by huge umbrellas. We enjoyed the breeze while we ate our lunch consisting of spaghetti con vongole and veal scaloppini with lemon.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Another day, another catacomb. This time it was The Catacombs of Saint Gaudiosus, a saint of African origins who as buried on the site in around 452 AD. During the Middle Ages mudslides covered the area and it was completely uninhabitable. Dominican Friars rediscovered it in the 17th Century. They developed a way to preserve human remains (a primitive form of mummification) by poking holes in a corpse and letting the fluids drain out over a period of about a year. Mummification appealed to the rich nobles who paid the friars the equivalent of millions of dollars to preserve their bodies. The friars made so much money that they built the church of Santa Maria dell Sanita on top of the catacombs in just a few, short years.
Our tour began by walking down a steep flight of stairs located near the main altar. We came to a room that had a large niche cut out in the shape of a large arc. This is where a wealthy person would have been buried. Above there were remnants of frescos made around the 5th Century AD.
Down another passage we came to the final resting place of Saint Gaudious. There were niches cut into the wall all around him so people could be buried as close to him as possible. Further down we came to another set of niches. These were used to store the bodies while they were being dried out. Another passage took us to a place where the nobles were buried. Their skulls had been implanted into the walls and their bodies hung. Their bones were tied together and they were dressed in the most elegant clothes. Frescos of them can still be seen on the walls along with their names.
Back in the church our guide explained that the area under the main altar was once the church’s crypt. In was now a huge space with small chapels all along the edges. In front is the oldest depiction of the Virgin Mary that can be found in all of Naples. Then we headed into a separate room where there was a very large presepe (nativity scene). She explained all of the symbolism. Many of the characters shown represented people and legends from the Naples area. It was very interesting.
We had lunch at a pizzeria across the street. I ordered a pizza with various cheeses and prosciutto. The middle was a regular pizza but the corners had been rolled up in such a way as to contain the meat and cheese. It was very interesting (and quite delicious). Deborah had a pizza with eggplant. The red sauce, which was different from what was on my pizza, was incredibly tasty.
On the way back to our apartment we walked through the Sanita District until we came to the Palazzo dello Spagnolo. It’s a famous former palace (now apartments) that had a fancy double staircase. Supposedly it’s been featured in several films.