Last week we began to explore some of the historical treasures near our home. In the spirit of Halloween, we started with catacombs and a cemetery, though neither was as spooky as we were expecting. Our first visit was to the Catacombs of San Gennaro. For €8 you get entrance and a simple guided tour through the dim underground catacombs. Your ticket also gets you admittance to the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, located just down the road, within a year. We plan to visit there soon. Originally a pagan burial ground from the 2nd century A.D., the Catacombs of San Gennaro became a proper Christian burial site when San Gennaro was buried there in the 5th century A.D. Burial style depended on class. Poorest were buried on the floor, middle class were buried in "bunks" in the walls while the rich had private alcoves adorned with frescoes. Approximately 2,000 people were buried there at one time. As a part of the restoration, all of the remains were moved to Fontanelle Cemetery, except San Gennaro's, which had been moved to the Cathedral of Naples. The mood is peaceful and reverent, although nobody is buried there any longer. We used the Napoli bus system for the first time ever to get to the catacombs. We are in love. The buses are quick and radically reduce the amount of walking you have to do. We were intimidated at first, but it was definitely worth it to jump in and try them. Last Saturday we followed up our catacomb visit by going to the Fontanelle Cemetery. There is not a convenient way to get to the cemetery. We rode the bus as close as possible and then walked for about 15 minutes through steep narrow streets in a run-down neighborhood. It's free to enter, but photos are forbidden. The one photo I tried to sneak turned out very poorly. Karma. The cemetery is not at all like I pictured. It consists of a natural underground vault filled with the skulls and femurs of all who are memorialized there. Nobody is in fact buried there, rather the bones are mostly stacked in low piles along the walls. With bones everywhere, you might think the cemetery would be creepy, but it was actually quite serene (Okay, Justin thought it was a little creepy). They offer public tours monthly and we may return to learn more about the cemetery. As we walked to Fontanelle, I spied an unusually delightful looking pasticceria. On our walk back, we decided to stop in. The pastry man was a jolly character who seemed to think we made great selections. When Justin tried to walk out, he insisted that he come back and take his first bite in his presence. He was delighted to see that Justin liked it. I believe Justin's exact response was, "This pastry is so damn good." |