Catacombe di San Gaudioso
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Catacombs beneath a big basilica in Naples, Italy. Originally going back to the 5th century as the burial place of the namesake saint, later abandoned but “revived” in the 17th century, especially for burials by the macabre “draining” method. Today they are a morbid attraction, especially the frescoes incorporating genuine skulls. It’s a really spooky place; not for everybody.
More background info: There had possibly been an ancient Greek/Roman necropolis here in the 4th century. In the mid 5th century the “Saint” Gaudioso was shipwrecked at what today is Naples, and was laid to rest in this location outside the city proper. (He was a bishop from Northern Africa, possibly today’s Tunisia, from where he may have been exiled.) The presence of a saint’s tomb made the site attractive for early Christians and so the catacombs were enlarged and many early frescoes were added up to the 6th century.
The location, outside the walls of the city in a valley between hills, faced frequent mudflows and landslides. Just like the San Gennaro catacombs nearby (from where the remains of the namesake saint were stolen) it was also subjected to theft, hence as a precaution Gaudioso’s remains were transferred to within the city walls of Naples in the 9th century.
The catacombs became abandoned until the 17th century, when the construction of the present Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità was begun. The catacombs were rediscovered, remodelled and put back into use – but only for the privileged few, from the aristocracy and clergy.
The burials applied the method of “draining” (cf. also Chiesa di Santa Luciella ai Librai), i.e. the dead bodies were first pierced at certain positions and then put in wall niches in a foetal position to drain off all the bodily fluids. Once the body was dessicated, the bones were cleaned and put in an ossuary. But the skulls were kept separately and set into the walls, the front was hacked off so that only the rear half remained, the opening flush with the wall. Underneath frescoes of the bodies were painted, some as skeletons, some clothed and usually with an indication of the deceased person’s profession. The frescoes were painted by the artist Giovanni Balducci, who did the work for free in return for the promise of being buried in this way after his death too. This was indeed granted. But whether he pre-prepared the fresco for himself ahead of his death or whether he left instructions for a successor I could not find out.
The process of the draining burials was of course anything but hygienic and posed a health risk to those carrying out the work. So in the early 19th century this sort of burial was outlawed.
The crypt and catacombs underwent an extensive restoration programme between 2011 and 2017.
The San Gaudioso Catacombs are under the same management as the Catacombe di San Gennaro (see under Naples) and together are known simply as Catacombe di Napoli. It has the practical advantage for today’s visitors that the ticket for the one gives you free entry to the other.
What there is to see: When I visited this site in January 2026 it was after I had just been on a tour of the San Gennaro Catacombs (see below and under Naples) and I wanted to make use of my entitlement to free entry to the San Gaudioso Catacombs with my San Gennaro ticket (see below).
I got to the entrance after an English-language tour had just left, so I expected to have to kill an hour until the next one. Instead, however, one of the staff said I could still join the current tour, so I was led to that group that had departed just minutes before my arrival. Apparently I hadn’t missed much and the very pleasant guide repeated a few key points for the late arrivals. It was quite a small group of maybe seven or eight participants, which was nice.
We were first guided around parts of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Sanità, which is quite impressive in itself. I particularly liked the modern-art elements that can be found in a couple of places, such as the two perspex “angels” (see photos).
A particular focus was placed on the old San Gaudioso Chapel over which the 17th century basilica was erected. In fact the high altar is right above the old chapel. It’s not normally publicly accessible, but for the tour the gate was opened and we were allowed to see the inside up close. There are some very old paintings, but again, for me what was more impressive was the modern installation on the floor of a half human figure lying sideways with one arm in the air on a mirrored surface so that the reflection adds the second half to complete the figure and with the ceiling in the background. In the floor is also a kind of trapdoor that was said to lead straight to the catacombs (and used to be used in funerals).
But instead of using that trapdoor we were taken to a small locked “cage” above a narrow and low flight of stairs down to the catacombs.
Here the original tomb of San Gaudioso was pointed out, which has been empty for many centuries (see above). We were shown the niches in the tuff walls that were once used for “draining” corpses sitting in a foetal position inside those niches (see above).
But the main dark attraction was what’s referred to as the “Ambulatory”. This is basically a ca. 30m long corridor with a small altar at the end. At the entrance there’s a lying sculpture of the corpse of Christ, which is quite spooky.
But the real spookiness starts on the other side of the entrance. Here a real human skeleton was worked into the wall. It’s incomplete, missing most of the legs and lower arms, but the spine and shoulders are very prominent. A scythe is painted on to the wall, looking like it’s being held by the skeleton man. This skeleton installation, so the guide explained, was supposed to be the “guardian” of the catacombs.
Instead of the head at the top of the spine there seemed to be a hole. But on closer inspection, and helped by the guide’s explanations, it turned out that this “hole” was indeed a real skull set into the wall, but with the front half of the skull hacked off, thus forming this bone-lined “hole”.
This macabre stylistic element is repeated in the wall frescoes that go all the way down on both sides of the “Ambulatory”. These are all symbolic graves of privileged deceased persons, with only the real skull (well, half of it) set into the wall and the body painted on to the wall below. Some are in the form of painted naked skeletons, others are clothed, or half clothed skeletons.
The guide had various stories to tell about the individuals thus represented here. Apparently some of the paintings indicate the profession the deceased had in his or her worldly life. One had a sword in hand, for instance, so had probably been a soldier.
The last one in the row to the left is the representation of Giovanni Balducci, the artist who painted all these macabre frescoes. He is represented with a painter’s palette and you can just about make out his first name written on to the wall next to his half skull.
At the other end of the “Ambulatory” is a small altar with another sculpture of the corpse of Christ in front of a fresco depicting the crucifixion. Another fresco shows a purgatory scene, with several people being engulfed by red flames from below (there’s quite a purgatory cult in Naples, by the way – see also Chiesa di Santa Luciella ai Librai).
After a good 20 minutes down in the catacombs we were led back upstairs into the basilica again and then into a large side room. Inside this room there was a “nativity scene” of the most enormous dimensions and intricate details that I’ve ever seen. I could have spent hours studying the very lifelike details. Some were quite darkly humorous, others exotic and some spooky, such as a medusa swimming ashore or a procession of clerics with pointed hoods. An incredible piece of art. As the guide explained it had been prepared only a couple of years previously … and it wasn’t quite clear whether it would even remain on permanent display. It would be quite a shame to lose it.
That concluded the guided tour and we left through a courtyard, which had some quite modernistic religious sculptures made out of rusty metal, then we said our goodbyes and exited.
All in all, I though this was quite a cool add-on to my itinerary, right on my last day in Naples. And I am very glad I did manage to slot it in at the end. While the San Gennaro Catacombs I had visited earlier that same day were impressive for their size, they lacked the macabre elements of the San Gaudioso Catacombs. This is why only the latter has a full chapter here. It was in particular the presence of those human remains, especially the half skulls set into walls, that were the characteristic dark elements that made these catacombs warrant a stand-alone entry here.
It can perhaps not be recommended for everybody, but for those who can handle the unique macabre elements, it’s a must-see when in Naples.
Location: underneath the Basilica di Santa Maria della Sanità in the Rione Sanità district of Naples, just under a mile (1.5km) north of the historic centre. The entrance for the guided catacombs tours is not inside the basilica but to the side of it at 123 Via Sanità, just under the Ponte Maddalena Cerasuolo bridge that takes the road Via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi across the valley.
Google Maps locator: [40.85946, 14.24853]
Access and costs: a bit out of the city centre, by guided tour only; not too expensive.
Details: To get to the catacombs you can walk it from the city centre, e.g. along Via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi. There’s a lift at the Ponte Maddalena Cerasuolo bridge that in theory can take you down to right next to the entrance. Only when I was there the lift was not working. In that case you have to use the road Discesa Sanità to get from the upper level to the lower one and vice versa. For public transport there’s only buses (Line C52 has a stop “Sanità” right outside the basilica).
To see the catacombs you have to go on a guided tour. These are available in Italian and English and take place daily except Wednesdays every hour on the hour from 10 a.m.; last tour at 5 p.m. (closed Christmas Day).
Price: 13€ regular adult, some concessions apply (e.g. for students, seniors) and with the Naples or Campania ArteCard (see under Naples) you also get a 4€ discount.
Note that when you’ve done the tour at these catacombs your ticket is also valid for free access to the other one of the Catacombe di Napoli, namely the Catacombe di San Gennaro. This offer remains valid for a whole year. It also applies the other way round, i.e. if you’ve done the tour at the San Gennaro Catacombs first you get into the tour of the San Gaudioso Catacombs for free if you show your ticket.
When I visited both catacombs I simply rocked on up and found spaces on the next English tour available. But in high season it may be better to book your ticket online in advance (from the official website catacombedinapoli[dot]it).
Nominally, there’s a no photography rule in place down in the catacombs, but the guide I had was very lenient with this – and going by the many photos you can find online, it can’t have been so strictly enforced before either.
Time required: the whole tour lasts about 45 minutes, about half of that time is spent in the catacombs.
Combinations with other dark destinations: Most obviously this attraction combines best with the Catacombe di San Gennaro (the other half of the Catacombe di Napoli). And: if you’ve done the tour at the one site you get into the other for free (so make sure you keep your ticket!). The San Gennaro Catacombs are not given a separate chapter of their own on this website, but see under Naples.
To get to the San Gennaro Catacombs from the San Gaudioso Catacombs first get up to Via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi (hopefully the lift will be working) and head north along Corso Amedeo di Savoia for about half a mile (0.5 km); keep to the left of Tondo di Capodimonte and take the sharp left turn into Via Capodimonte and walk through the gate towards the ticket hall.
If you’re doing the San Gennaro Catacombs first, note that the exit from the tour is in a different location, namely at the Basilica di San Gennaro adjacent to the San Gennaro hospital. To get to the San Gaudioso Catacombs from there first walk through the courtyards of the hospital and then turn slight left and follow the course of Via San Gennaro dei Poveri and then Via San Vincenzo, which takes you straight to Via Sanità.
Another burial place where the “draining” method (see above) was applied is the small Chiesa di Santa Luciella ai Librai in the heart of the historic centre of the city.
See also under Naples in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Nothing much in the immediate vicinity – but see under Naples in general.
