Catacombs of Naples: tickets and hours for San Gennaro and San Gaudioso

The Catacombs of Naples and the people who brought them back

In antiquity the Sanità valley was a burial ground outside the city walls. There are nine catacombs and underground complexes beneath the district; four can be visited today, and the two main ones are San Gennaro and San Gaudioso. Unlike the catacombs of Rome, the solid tuff here allowed wide, high chambers: San Gennaro spreads over two levels that do not overlap.

Tours are run by La Paranza, a social cooperative set up in 2006 by young people from the neighbourhood. In 2008 a grant from the Fondazione CON IL SUD made it possible to restore and reopen the San Gennaro catacombs; the cooperative says visitor numbers have grown fivefold since then, and it now employs about 70 people. Buying a ticket here also supports a community project that has changed the face of the district.

Catacombs of San Gennaro: what you see

The original core is a 2nd-century AD family tomb, probably donated to the Christian community. In the 5th century Bishop John I had the remains of San Gennaro (St Januarius) brought here.

• Upper catacomb: a vestibule painted in the early 3rd century in “Pompeian style”, with the earliest Christian paintings in southern Italy.
• Crypt of the Bishops: 5th-century mosaics, including a portrait of St Quodvultdeus, bishop of Carthage.
• Basilica adiecta: a three-aisled underground church built after the relics arrived, with the chamber of San Gennaro’s tomb.
• Frescoes: the family of Theotecnus with his wife Ilaritas and little daughter Nonnosa (early 6th century); Bitalia and Cerula holding Gospel books (5th–6th century).
• Lower catacomb: the basilica of Sant’Agrippino, the first patron saint of Naples, with a bishop’s chair carved from the rock where Mass is still said, and the baptismal font of Bishop Paul II (8th century).

There are an estimated 3,000 burials. The saint’s relics were stolen in 831 by the Lombard prince Sicone and only returned to Naples in 1497.

Catacombs of San Gaudioso: what you see

You enter from beneath the high altar of Santa Maria della Sanità, known locally as the “Monacone” church. This is the burial place of St Gaudiosus, bishop of Abitina in North Africa, whom the Vandal king Genseric set adrift on a boat with no sails or oars; he was buried here between 451 and 453.

• 17th-century burials: the skull set into the wall and, beneath it, the body painted in fresco with the clothes and tools of the person’s trade. The painter Giovanni Balducci is said to have asked to be buried here in place of payment.
• The “draining” rite: the niches where bodies were left to drain, the gravedigger known as the schiattamuorto, and the Neapolitan curse “Puozze sculà!”.
• The Madonna della Sanità (5th–6th century), described as the oldest image of Mary in Campania, and a 9th-century Byzantine Madonna found by chance in 1991.
• The fresco of Pascentius, presented by St Peter, and mosaics with fish, lambs and vines.

Legend has it that one of these frescoes inspired the comic actor Totò, born nearby, to write his poem ’A livella.

Opening hours and booking: closed on Wednesdays

Both catacombs are open Monday to Sunday, with tours every hour from 10:00 to 17:00, and are closed on Wednesdays and on 25 December. Visits are guided only, in English and Italian, and last about an hour. Booking is always required, even if you already hold a ticket from the other catacomb.

With a single day, you can do San Gennaro in the morning and San Gaudioso in the afternoon, heading down into the Sanità. Be wary of platforms that show daily hours: the catacombs are closed on Wednesdays whatever an online calendar seems to say.

Catacombs of Naples tickets: prices and discounts

• Adult: €13, valid for both catacombs for 12 months
• Students, over-65s, police: €9
• Under 18: €6
• Under 6: free
• Disabled visitors: free, carer €9
• Groups and schools (20 or more): special rates, charged per catacomb

Discounts: with the Campania Artecard you pay €9; Touring Club and FAI members €10.40; €11 with a ticket for the Fontanelle Cemetery or the Jago Museum and its Veiled Son. The catacombs are also part of the ExtraMANN and Naples Pass networks (book by email). Free museum Sundays do not apply.

Official site, Tiqets or GetYourGuide?

This one is easy because the price is the same everywhere: €13. The official site is the only place to use reductions and partner discounts. Tiqets adds free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead and sells two products, one for San Gennaro and one for San Gaudioso: you only need one, since the ticket covers both. The San Gaudioso product says so clearly and adds a Jago Museum discount; the San Gennaro one does not mention it, so keep your ticket and ask at the desk. GetYourGuide sells the one-hour San Gennaro tour at the same price, with more than 8,700 reviews.

Remember that Wednesdays are closed even if a platform offers you that day.

We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets or GetYourGuide links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Getting to the catacombs

• San Gennaro, Via Capodimonte 13, next to the basilica of the Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio. From Museo metro station (Line 1), take a bus from the “Museo Nazionale” stop (lines 168, 178, 204, 650, C63 and 3M) to “Basilica Incoronata – Catacombe San Gennaro”, about 15 minutes. By car: ring road exit 5 Capodimonte, with free parking at the catacombs.
• San Gaudioso, Via Sanità 123, inside the basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, in the heart of the district.

On foot, the catacombs lie on the walk of about 2 km (half an hour) that the Capodimonte museum suggests between the MANN and the palace, over the Ponte della Sanità. For metro, buses and fares see getting around Naples.

Tips for your visit and the rest of the Sanità

Bring a light layer: it is 15–22 °C underground. San Gennaro is normally the most accessible underground site in Naples, but check the status of the wheelchair entrance, currently closed for work on the cliff. Avoid Wednesdays and book ahead at weekends.

The Sanità district deserves a few more hours: Santa Maria della Sanità with works by Luca Giordano, the basilica of San Severo with Jago’s Veiled Son, and the Fontanelle Cemetery. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays La Paranza also runs the Miglio Sacro, a guided walk of about three hours from Via Capodimonte to Porta San Gennaro (€19, with reductions). If the underground is your thing, compare the catacombs with Naples Underground and San Lorenzo Maggiore in our guide to underground Naples: with one Catacombs of Naples ticket you see two sites, and the district in between.