The fontanelle cemetery is an ossuary located in Naples. It houses the remains of approximately 40,000 deceased (but there are theories according to which the people buried would be much more numerous), crowded together in large naves dug into the tuff quarries. The remains largely belong to poor peoplemany of whom died during the plague epidemics of 1656 and cholera of 1836. In the Fontanelle cemetery the cult of the “capuzzelle”which consisted of taking care of a specific skull (the “capuzzella”), in exchange for receiving graces and numbers to play the lottery. The cult was prohibited by the Church in 1969 because it was considered a pagan rite.
What is the fountain cemetery
The Fontanelle cemetery is a historic ossuary in Naples, located in Health district. It owes its name to the fact that they were once in the area There are some sources of water.
The ossuary is located inside of tuff quarries and is structured in large underground naves, in which the bones are piled up. In the cemetery there are therefore no “normal” graves, but only piles of bones. However, there is also one churchbuilt in the nineteenth century.
The cemetery is estimated to contain the remains of around 40,000 deceasedbut according to other theories and popular beliefs the number is much higher.
Since 2024 the management of the cemetery has been entrusted to cooperative La Paranzathe same one that manages the nearby catacombs of San Gennaro.
History of the cemetery
The cemetery has originated in 1656when Naples, together with the entire Kingdom of which it was the capital and other Italian locations, was hit by a devastating plague epidemic. According to the most authoritative estimates, there were deaths in the city around 200,000. Numerous places were used to bury the corpses, including the tuff quarries present in the Sanità valleythen still uninhabited. They were the ones to be buried in the quarries especially poor peopleto whom the families could not guarantee a more dignified burial.
After the plague, the cemetery welcomed the remains of other deceased. The bones placed in the churches were brought there, after, during the French Decade (1806-1815)the burials were reclaimed. It is also said that until the eighteenth century requests for burial in churches were particularly frequent and that, as there was not room for everyone, the gravediggers used one stratagem: they temporarily deposited the corpses in churches, leaving the families to believe that the burial had taken place, and then secretly took them to other places, including the Fontanelle cemetery.
The cemetery welcomed remains of the deceased also on the occasion ofcholera epidemic which hit Naples in 1835-1837. Legend has it that the remains of the fountains were also brought to the cemetery Giacomo Leopardiwho died in Naples in 1837 (in reality, the poet’s body was buried in a church).
The cemetery of the fountains was opened to the public in 1872. It was no longer used as a burial place, except in exceptional cases, such as to place human remains found during public works. In 1934, for example, the bones found at the Angevin male during the renovation work on via Acton.
After a long closure, the cemetery was opened in 2006 reopened to the public. Closed again in 2019, it will be accessible from 18 April 2026
The rites of popular devotion: pezzentelle and “capuzzelle” souls
In the cemetery the cult of the “beggarly souls”that is, the souls who ask for prayers in suffrage. The word “pezzentelle” derives from the Latin verb peter, which means to ask (it is the same etymology ofadjective “beggarly”used in a derogatory sense). The souls, belonging to poor families and unable to give them a dignified burial, ask the charity of other people for prayers through which, from purgatory, they can ascend to heaven. The cult is based on the belief that the souls placed in purgatory they can “accelerate” their ascent to heaven if those left alive pray on their behalf. In exchange for prayers, souls they intercede on behalf of the livingperforming miracles and graces, including communicating the numbers to play the lottery.
The belief in the souls in purgatory does not only concern the deceased in the Fontanelle cemetery. In the ossuary, however, he established himself a more specific rite, that of the “capuzzelle”. It consists of “adopt” a skull (the “capuzzella”), generally placing it in a small shrine, kept in the ossuary, keeping it clean and offering prayers to it. Those who have adopted the “capuzzella” receive in exchange thanks and numbers to play the lottery.
Popular devotion has elaborated rites and beliefs of various kindssuch as the one according to which the “little caps” can get jealous if a person turns his care to another skull and can take revenge by making unfortunate events happen.
The cult of capuzzelle was banned in 1969 by decree of the archbishop of Naples, Corrado Ursi, as it is considered a pagan rite.
Famous “Capuzzelle”: the captain and Donna Concetta
In the cemetery there are some “famous” skulls which are objects of particular veneration.
One of the best known is that of captainwhich he presents one of the eye sockets blackenedalmost as if he had been punched. The skull has given rise to various legends. One of the most popular wants it to be worshiped by a young woman who, in exchange for his attentions, would have asked for the grace to find a husband. The skull would have satisfied her and on the wedding day it would even show up in the church, in the guise of a Spanish soldier. As the bride passed by, the soldier winked at her, arousing the jealousy of her husband, who punched him in the eye.
Another famous “capuzzella” is the one called Donna Concettawhich appears less dusty and shinier than the others, probably because it better attracts the humidity present in the quarries. Legend has it Donna Concetta sweats and that, through sweat, he communicates whether he has achieved a grace: if, to the touch, the capuzzella is moist, it means that the grace has arrived.
