Fontanelle Cemetery: Naples' Ossuary of Adopted Skulls

Beneath the streets of the Rione Sanità district in Naples lies a vast subterranean world defined by devotion and reciprocity. The Cimitero delle Fontanelle is a sprawling network of ancient volcanic tuff caves, originally quarried by the Greeks and Romans. For decades, these caves accumulated the remains of people for whom Naples' conventional burial system had no space. Walking into these depths, you encounter the remains of roughly 40,000 people stacked along the damp rock walls.

From Mass Grave to Organized Ossuary

The history of Fontanelle is a record of mass mortality. In 1656, a devastating plague decimated the population of Naples. Burial grounds quickly ran out of space, and authorities ordered the dead to be placed into the disused Fontanelle quarries. More remains were deposited during the cholera epidemic of 1836. Over time, Fontanelle also received remains transferred from other burial grounds and church hypogea, making its population more diverse than the familiar plague-and-cholera narrative suggests.

The transition from a neglected mass grave to an organized ossuary occurred in the late 19th century. In 1872, a group of local volunteers led by Father Gaetano Barbati undertook the large task of collecting, cleaning, and arranging the scattered bones. Assisted by local women, Barbati's team arranged the remains into the methodical stacks and distinct aisles that define the cemetery's structure today. Around the same period, the reorganized ossuary became the setting for an intense form of popular devotion.

Who Were the Anime Pezzentelle?

Devout women from the neighborhood began venturing into the caves to care for the anonymous remains. They were understood as poor or abandoned souls in Purgatory, often associated with anonymous dead who had no relatives to remember them or pray on their behalf. These became known as the anime pezzentelle. By cleaning the bones and praying for them, the living offered these forgotten souls a form of spiritual relief.

Why Neapolitans Adopted Skulls

The practice reflected a powerful logic of reciprocity between the living and the dead. As anthropologist Marino Niola documents, Neapolitans adopted specific skulls, affectionately known as capuzzelle. An individual would choose a skull, clean it, place it in a wooden box called a scarabattolo, and adorn it with rosaries. The dead who had nobody were given somebody. In return for this care, the adopter might ask the soul to intercede on their behalf—for health, protection, marriage, or even winning lottery numbers.

This Wasn't Skull Worship

Describing the practice simply as "skull worship" misses its religious context. In this strand of Neapolitan popular devotion, the skull served as a physical anchor for prayers directed at the anime pezzentelle. The living were not praying to a bone deity; they were addressing a soul believed to be in Purgatory, offering prayers while asking for intercession or practical favors in return.

Il Capitano and Donna Concetta: Where History Becomes Legend

Over time, specific skulls gained distinct identities and legends. According to one of the cemetery's best-known legends, the skull known as "Il Capitano" (The Captain) belonged to a Spanish soldier and became associated with lovers and marriage. Like many Fontanelle legends, the story exists in several versions, often involving a skeptical bridegroom who mocks the skull. Another famous resident is Donna Concetta, known as 'a capa che suda (the sweating skull). Donna Concetta is recognizable because her skull remains unusually shiny while many surrounding skulls collect dust. Devotees interpreted this appearance as supernatural "sweat"; women hoping to have a child traditionally turned to her for help.

Why the Church Restricted the Cult

The practice developed largely outside formal ecclesiastical structures and increasingly troubled Church authorities. The tradition of adopting skulls and asking for practical favors operated alongside, but distinct from, official doctrine. In 1969, Cardinal Corrado Ursi ordered the cemetery closed to the public amid Church concerns that devotion to the anonymous dead had moved beyond acceptable Catholic practice, bringing the public cult at Fontanelle to an official halt.

The 2026 Reopening and Visitation

Following the 1969 restriction, the cemetery experienced various periods of partial opening and long closures. On April 18, 2026, the Comune di Napoli announced the definitive reopening of the Cimitero delle Fontanelle. Following extensive maintenance, safety upgrades, and a formal valorization project, the site is now permanently accessible to the public, operating under clear municipal guidelines.

Visiting Fontanelle today offers a look into a unique devotional world. Wooden shrines, devotional objects, and the carefully arranged human remains still preserve traces of these practices. Although the public devotional practices once associated with Fontanelle were officially restricted, the site remains a profound physical record of how a community chose to confront mass death—not by looking away, but by literally embracing the forgotten and inviting them back into the social fabric of the city.