Explore the vibrant Rione Sanità in Naples, one of the city's most colorful and folkloristic districts where the prince of laughter, Antonio de Curtis aka Totò, grew up. Get a deeper understanding of Neapolitan culture by listening to the stories behind the murals on the walls of this bustling quarter.
Discover the rite of the "pezzentelle souls" by visiting the Fontanelle Cemetery located on the slopes of the Materdei hill, the highest part of Rione Sanità which was used as a burial place during the terrible plague epidemic of 1656. Along the road leading to Borgo dei Vergini and the local market, you will admire two ancient noble residences, Palazzo Sanfelice and Palazzo dello Spagnuolo, both adorned with unusual hawk-wing staircases.
Just beyond the Ponte della Sanità dedicated to the partisan Maddalena Cerasuolo, stands the monumental Baroque Church of Santa Maria alla Sanità, known to Neapolitans as "Chiesa d'o Munacon". Inside the church, you'll marvel at the miraculous statue of the Dominican Saint Vincenzo Ferrer, to whom is attributed the end of the cholera epidemic of 1836; here you can also access the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, where the draining ritual was practiced.
Immerse yourself in the local culture as your guide reveals the important messages of social redemption behind the works of famous street artists that decorate the streets of Rione Sanità as a tribute to its inhabitants. Your last stop will be Porta San Gennaro, one of the ancient city gates that still features a fresco by Mattia Preti, an ex-voto for the end of the plague of 1656.
