Things to do in Naples, Campania: The Best Historic Sites

Around the origin of our Catacombs much has been discussed, they were simpleburial and never were quarries or underground ways; the first note of the monumentis repeated since the death of St. Agrippino our bishop in the II century, when hisbody was buried there in a noble tomb. Many miracles the saint operated by thetomb, so it became a place of reverence and neapolitan wished to be buried in thatplace.

Enchanting scenery that unfolds to the eyes of visitors, a secret place full of history and magic atmosphere.An emotional journey that conducts visitors in the new section of the underground of Naples. It is situated in Vico del Grottone 4, from to 150 mt. to Plebiscito Square. Until a few years ago it wasa veterinary laboratory, now is the entrance of the Bourbon Tunnel. A staircase with 8 ramps, 33 yards deep descending into the belly of Chiaia. The second entry is in Via Domenico Morelli,40, through the crosswalk of “Quick parking”.The Tunnel was built in 1853 by Ferdinand II of Bourbon, who, concerned about the outbreak of rebellion, he asked for an escape from the Royal Palace to the barrack in Via della Pace, now Via Morelli. The work was uncompleted and, during the second World War, was used by residents of the area as a military hospital, later becoming the Hall Judicial Deposit.The war left its mark even in the subsoil. That’s way there are handwrite, folding beds, messages of wish and desolation of those who lived it and still maintains its memory. Along the tunnel thereare also the evidences, 530 meters, where visitors can discover the history of real life. Through the spacious streets, it’s easy reachable the network of tunnels and cisterns of seventeenth-century,large buildings, where worked the "pozzari", the only connoisseur of Naples underground.The show is stunning, but that's not finished. On Via Morelli appear statues dating back to fascist period and many cars and motorcycles, abandoned for years, freed from piles of rubbish, arranged and illuminated ad hoc for the route.Nothing is left to chance, even lighting, perfectly integrated with the path of the visitors.Since today everything is possible to visit. Five years ago the scenery was completely different.Rubbish, degradation, wastes of all kinds covered the reliquaries.

Under the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, the neuralgic centres of the district, we find the second most important early Christian cemetery in the city. The Catacombs were extended following the burial of the North African bishop, deposited here between 451 and 453 AD. The Catacombs of San Gaudioso are the second largest in Naples, and includes both early Christian and 17th century elements. On one side there is the intensity of the early Christian elements, such as the tomb of St. Gaudiosusand frescoes and mosaics of the 5th and 6th centuries, and on the other, the special graves reserved for nobles, dating back to the 17th century, when the catacombs resumed the function of a burial site. The Catacombs of San Gaudioso conserve valuable frescoes and mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries that feature many symbols that were widely used in the early Christian era, such as the fish, the lamb, and grapes with branches.

The church was founded by Bartolomeo Di Capua in 1327 and became a place of worship for the Guild of Pipernieri, Frabbicatori and Tagliamonti that in Santa Lucia entrusted the protection of sight, put at risk by their profession. In the basement of the church is kept the famous Skull with Ears, from which the Neapolitans, up until the 1900s, went to pray.

The Teatro di San Carlo was designed by the architects Giovanni Antonio Medrano and Angelo Carasale for the monarch since Charles wanted a new and larger theatre for Naples to replace the old and dilapidated Teatro San Bartolomeo of 1621. On 12 February 1816 the San Carlo was destroyed by fire. The Theatre was re-designed by the architect Antonio Niccolini and rebuilt within ten months on order of King Ferdinand IV. In 1845 there was additional refurbishment and, by 1854, the theatre's interior appearance changed to the now-traditional red and gold.Now carefully restored to its former splendour, the San Carlo is the oldest working theatre in Europe.

Built in the late 1500s, this gem of Italian artistic heritage was greatly influenced by the famous Raimondo de Sangro VII, Prince of Sansevero, a genius of science and invention.