Cemetery sights in Campania

1. A Map

   Cimitero delle Fontanelle

   • Naples, Italy
   • Sights › Cemetery

   Currently holding an estimated eight million human bones, the ghoulish Fontanelle Cemetery was first used during the plague of 1656, before becoming the city's main burial site during the cholera epidemic of 1837. At the end of the 19th century it became a cult spot for the worship of the dead, which saw locals adopting skulls and praying for their souls.

   Dubbed the culto delle anime pezzentelle (cult of the poor souls), the practice took hold here after Father Gaetano Barbati began cleaning and cataloguing the abandoned skeletal remains in 1872. Devotees joined him, adopting the anonymous skulls, building little scarabattole (cabinets) to encase them in, and praying for…

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