The Holy Mile

Catacombs of San Gennaro

Time 09:00

A trip underground through the history of Christianity in Naples.

At a few metres’ distance and a few steps further down, we reach the Catacombs of San Gennaro, where the tomb of the patron saint is located.

The Catacombs of San Gennaro were created from the expansion of a chapel which started during the second century AD, after the deposition of Sant’Agrippino, first patron saint of Naples, and continued with the arrival of San Gennaro.

They consist of two non-overlapping levels and are characterised by open spaces, dug horizontally.

In the Catacombs you will discover the precious mosaics placed on the tombs of the first bishops of Naples, frescoes of ancient Neapolitan families recovered from ruin and special structures built in the tuff.

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Basilica of San Gennaro Extra Moenia

Time 10:15

Just outside the exit of the Catacombs, that originally was the access, there is the early Christian basilica built in the fifth century AD.

Like the Catacombs, it was abandoned after the remains of San Gennaro were stolen in the fifth century. In the fifteenth century it was renovated and adapted to the Baroque style. In place of the nearby monastery, a hospital for lepers was built (San Gennaro of the Poor) which later became a hospice for the poor. Despite further renovation in the early twentieth century, which brought it to its original aspect, the Basilica became a store for the nearby hospital.

Since 2008 it has once again become part of the neighbourhood’s life.

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Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità

Time 10:30

In Rione Sanità (Sanità District), the basilica is known as the Church of St. Vincenzo o’Munacone (the big monk).

Let’s go back in the heart of the area, to the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità (St. Mary of Sanità), landmark of the district. It is known as the Church of the Monacone because it has the statue of St. Vincenzo Ferreri, a Dominican monk and patron of Health.

The basilica is a veritable museum of Neapolitan painting of the seventeenth century, with valuable paintings, among others, by Luca Giordano and Andrea Vaccaro, and the first Neapolitan representation of Madonna and Child, saved from the Virgins’ Lava in the fifth and sixth centuries AD.

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Basilica of San Severo and Jago's Figlio Velato exhibition

Time 11:30

Visits to the Basilica and Jago's exhibition in the Cappella dei Bianchi.

The Basilica di San Severo was recently restored and the surrounding area was refurbished with new street furniture.

The Cappella dei Bianchi is a hidden treasure keeping a selection of paintings by famous Neapolitan painters (Andrea Vaccaro, Luca Giordano and Francesco Fracanzano).

Since 2019, the Cappella holds the sculpture Figlio Velato by street artist Jago. The work draws inspiration from the famous Cristo Velato by Giuseppe Sammartino and was carved from a single block of marble. The Figlio Velato depicts a baby covered with a veil, representing the dying innocents of our times.

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Palazzo Sanfelice

Time 12:00

The Baroque originality of the visionary staircase inside.

A few steps away, another of the most famous buildings in Naples. It was commissioned to Ferdinando Sanfelice by the Marquis of Poppano, who unified two buildings received as dowry.

Its main characteristic is the grand hawk-wing staircase, adorned with stucco decorations. It is known as the Palace of the Spaniard because in the nineteenth century it was bought by the Spaniard Tommaso Atienza.

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Palazzo dello Spagnuolo

Time 12:15 See on map

Porta San Gennaro

Time 12:30

It is the oldest gate of Naples, through which the tufa blocks from the quarries passed.

Our journey ends close to Via Foria, at Porta San Gennaro. The gate was mentioned for the first time in 928 and was the entrance to the city for those coming from the north and necessary passage to go to the Catacombs of San Gennaro.

After the 1656 plague, a frescoed aedicule was added as votive offering, depicting San Gennaro, Santa Rosalia and St. Francis Xavier praying for the end of the epidemic.

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