Naples' Fontanelle Cemetery Reopens After Safety Upgrades

The Cimitero delle Fontanelle, an ancient ossuary in Naples' Rione Sanità district, reopens to the public on April 19 after a long closure for safety interventions. The site, originally a tuff quarry, became a burial ground during the 1656 plague that killed over 250,000 people. In 1872, Don Gaetano Barbati organized the bones into three symbolic naves. The reopening is managed through a public-private partnership between the Comune di Napoli and the cooperative La Paranza, with €640,000 in private funding from Fondazione Con il Sud and Fondazione di Comunità San Gennaro, plus €200,000 from the city. The project is part of a broader cultural regeneration of Rione Sanità, aligned with the Faro Convention's 'community of heritage' model, and involves young architects from the University of Naples Federico II's Architecture Department. The site had been closed for worship since 1969.