Catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples: Tickets, Guided Tour, and Tips

Naples – Anyone standing on the hill of Capodimonte North of the Old Town, visitors descend into the earth to find narrow tunnels and halls made of yellow tuff. The Catacombs of San Gennaro, an early Christian cemetery on two levels, are named after the city’s patron saint, whose remains were transferred here in the 5th century. You can only visit them on a guided tour: The tour lasts one hour, costs €13.00, and begins daily (except Wednesdays) at 10 a.m. and every hour on the hour.

Here you'll find prices and start times, the stops on the tour, and directions to each one. Plus, a suggestion for afterward: walk down to the Rione Sanità, the neighborhood in the valley below Capodimonte, whose residents have reopened the catacombs. If you want to learn more about the saint himself and the miracle of the blood, read on in our profile of Saint Januarius.

How much is admission to the Catacombs of San Gennaro?

The full price is €13.00. Children and teenagers under 18 pay €6.00; students, visitors 65 and older, and members of the police force pay €9.00. Admission is free for children under six and people with disabilities; one accompanying adult pays €9.00. The ticket is valid for twelve months and includes admission to the Catacombs of San Gaudioso.

If you have more plans in Naples, you can find prices and schedules for the main attractions in our overview of the Sights in Naples.

When do the guided tours of the catacombs start?

Guided tours begin daily (except Wednesdays) at 10 a.m. and run every hour on the hour; Monday through Saturday, the last tour starts at 5 p.m. The Catacombs are closed on December 25. The ticket shop will show you which start times are still available on the day of your visit when you make your reservation.

A tour lasts one hour and is conducted in Italian or English. The temperature underground ranges from 15 to 22 °C, even in August. So be sure to bring a sweater and wear comfortable shoes.

What You'll See in the Catacombs of San Gennaro

The catacombs are arranged on two levels that are not stacked one above the other. Because tuff is easy to work with yet still sturdy, the passageways and chambers are significantly wider than in Rome’s well-known catacombs, such as those at the Via Appia Antica, the ancient highway leading south. According to the operator's estimate, there are about 3,000 burials; not all of the chambers have been uncovered yet.

Upper Level: The Tomb of the City's Patron Saint and the Bishops' Crypt

The upper level dates back to a 3rd-century tomb. Its antechamber was painted in the Pompeian style in the early 3rd century and features the earliest Christian paintings in southern Italy. This level began to expand when Bishop Giovanni I. had the remains of Saint Gennaro brought here in the 5th century. His tomb was located in a burial chamber beneath what would later become the Basilica of the Bishops, and many now wished to be buried near him.

Two rooms illustrate just how much the town grew afterward: the Bishops' Crypt, the crypt of the bishops of Naples, and the attached basilica, an underground church with three naves, built after the transfer. The bishop’s crypt contains 5th-century mosaics, including a portrait of Quodvultdeus, Bishop of Carthage. He came to Naples as an exile: the Vandal king Geiserich had put him, along with other Christians who rejected the Vandals’ faith, on a ship without sails or oars.

Frescoes: Family Portraits from Late Antiquity

The tombs themselves reveal how people were buried. Simple tombs are carved into the floor or the walls of the passageways. Wealthy families were buried in arcosolia—arched niches in the wall—which were decorated with frescoes or mosaics. The images range from pagan paintings of the 2nd century to Byzantine works of the 9th and 10th centuries.

Two family portraits stand out in particular. The fresco of Theotecnus’s family from the early 6th century depicts him with his wife, Ilaritas, and little Nonnosa. Beneath the paint lie three layers of plaster on top of one another; the painting was likely renewed after each death. The frescoes of Bitalia and Cerula, two women holding Gospel books in their hands, date from the 5th or 6th century.

Lower level: the basilica of the Sant’Agrippino

The lower level was built around the underground basilica of Sant’Agrippino, the first patron saint of Naples, who was buried here in the 4th century. The single-nave space is carved entirely from tuff, featuring a bishop’s chair hewn from the rock and an altar with an opening through which the faithful could see and touch the tomb. Mass is still celebrated here today.

On the same level is the large vestibule with ceilings up to six meters high. The baptismal font inside was commissioned by Bishop Paul II. who withdrew to the catacombs in the 8th century during the Iconoclastic Controversy, the conflict over the veneration of images of saints. The lighting, on the other hand, is new: In 2009, the Talent Workshop, a social cooperative of young people from the Rione Sanità, which uses LED lighting that preserves the frescoes and mosaics.

From a Family Grave to a Pilgrimage Site

It all began in the 2nd century with the tomb of a noble family, who later ceded the site to the Christian community. With Sant’Agrippino in the 4th century and Gennaro in the 5th century, the cemetery became a place of pilgrimage.

Gennaro, Bishop of Benevento in the hinterland of Campania, was founded in 305 in Pozzuoli, the port city west of Naples, was beheaded and initially buried elsewhere. In 831, the Lombard prince Sicone I. his remains and took them to Benevento; later, they were moved to the mountain monastery Montevergine. It wasn't until 1497 that they returned to Naples, where they are now housed in the Naples Cathedral are.

After the robbery, people feared further thefts, so in the 9th century they moved the remains of other saints behind the city walls as well. In the late Middle Ages, believers and pilgrims gradually abandoned the entire cemetery area, partly because mudslides from the surrounding hills repeatedly swept down into the valley.

Three times a year, Naples still honors its patron saint: on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, on September 19, and on December 16, the faithful gather in the cathedral to witness his blood liquefy.

La Paranza: How Sanità Reclaimed Its Catacombs

The fact that you can visit the catacombs today is thanks to a group of young people from the Rione Sanità. In 2006, they founded the social cooperative La Paranza and initially took over the Catacombs of San Gaudioso. In 2008, they won a bid from the Fondazione Con il Sud, a foundation supporting projects in southern Italy, and in doing so also reopened the Catacombs of San Gennaro to the public. Under an agreement reached in May 2024, the cooperative, acting on behalf of the Archdiocese of Naples, has sole responsibility for managing the Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso, as well as the smaller Catacombs of San Severo.

The neighborhood is located in a valley at the foot of Capodimonte, close to the Old Town and yet long cut off from it. In the early 19th century, the Ponte della Sanità the Sanità, the bridge on the new road to the Royal Palace in Capodimonte, and the neighborhood remained below. Since the 1960s, the entrance to the catacombs had also been located up in Capodimonte. It wasn't until the reopening of the Basilica of San Gennaro outside the city walls In 2008, the early Christian church located outside the former city walls reconnected the catacombs with the neighborhood.

San Gaudioso: the second catacomb with the same ticket

Beneath the high altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, the neighborhood’s parish church with its yellow-green majolica dome, is home to Naples’ second-largest catacomb. It is named after Gaudioso, Bishop of Abitina in present-day Tunisia, who came to Naples with Quodvultdeus and was buried here between 451 and 453.

The most unusual tombs date from the 17th century: nobles and clergy were buried in such a way that their skulls were visible in the wall, and the artist Giovanni Balducci painted their bodies as frescoes below. The coffin lies in the 123 Via Sanità, your ticket from San Gennaro is valid here for twelve months.

Fontanelle Cemetery: Skulls in the Old Quarry

Also located in the neighborhood is the Cimitero delle Fontanelle. This former tuff quarry became the final resting place for the victims of the plague of 1656 and the cholera epidemic of 1836, as well as for remains from the city’s churches. The site is known for the cult surrounding the anime pezzentelle, those poor souls: Neapolitans adopted a skull, cared for it, and hoped for mercy; the soul appeared to them in a dream.

The Ossuary has been open again since April 18, 2026, daily except Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and by reservation only. The entrance is located at the 80 Via Fontanelle, a visit lasts 40 minutes and costs €6.00 or more with an audio guide.

How do you get to the Catacombs of San Gennaro?

The entrance is located at the 13 Via Capodimonte right next to the Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Counsel, the domed church on the hillside of Capodimonte. The easiest way to get there is by bus: From the bus stop National Museum From the Museo metro station, lines 168, 178, and C63, among others, take about 15 minutes to reach the stop Basilica Incoronata, Catacombs of San Gennaro.

To the subway station Museum You can take Metro Line 1 or go via the station Piazza Cavour Line 2. From the airport, the Alibus, the airport bus operated by ANM, takes about 15 minutes to reach the main train station at the Piazza Garibaldi, where you'll transfer to Line 1. An ANM day pass for the bus and metro costs €4.50.

If you're driving, take the Bypass, Naples' urban highway, to Exit 5 (Capodimonte), then turn right onto Via Capodimonte. After about 200 meters, the basilica will be on your right; free parking is available in the catacombs’ parking lot. From the Museo metro station, it’s about 1.5 kilometers on foot—roughly a 25-minute walk—and the path leads steadily uphill.

Accessibility, Children, and Languages

Good to know: You can’t go in on your own; every tour is guided, and they’re conducted in Italian or English. If you don’t understand much English, read the descriptions of the stops above beforehand, and you’ll still be able to recognize the bishop’s crypt, the family frescoes, and the baptismal font when you see them below.

Since 2009, the catacombs have been made fully accessible with walkways and ramps. The ground-level entrance for people with mobility impairments at the Vicoletto San Gennaro dei Poveri 22 is currently closed because the tuff slope next to the entrance is being secured. For blind and visually impaired visitors, a tactile tour featuring metal reliefs is available by appointment.

For children, La Paranza will offer the „” excavation workshop on Saturdays in the fall of 2026.„Archaeologists for a Day“Sign up for ‘Archaeologists for a Day’; the deadline is November 14. Evening tours and tours in Italian Sign Language are available upon request.”.

Is it worth visiting the Catacombs of San Gennaro?

Yes, even for those who have already seen the catacombs in Rome. The vast chambers carved into the tuff, the Bishop’s Crypt with its mosaics, and the family portraits from late antiquity reveal a side of Naples that’s hard to imagine from up above in the bustling Old Town. For one hour and €13.00, you’ll get a ticket that’s also valid for San Gaudioso.

You’ll get the most out of it if you combine your visit with a tour of the neighborhood. The cooperative that leads tours through the passageways is based in Sanità and has helped establish a small network of cooperatives and artisan workshops there. Plan on spending half a day exploring the catacombs, San Gaudioso, and taking a stroll through Sanità; book the first guided tour at 10 a.m. and avoid Wednesdays. To find out what else Naples has to offer, check out our Naples City Guide.

Prices, hours of operation, and schedules are subject to change; please check the official websites for the latest information before your trip.