Beneath the Rione Sanità: the Greek Naples of the Cripta dei Cristallini

There is a Naples that the flows of mass tourism almost always leap over: that of the Rione Sanità, gathered in a hollow north of the historic centre, beyond the 19th-century bridge that flies over it. Those who come down here, among narrow alleys and ground-floor dwellings facing the street, find a lively, working-class neighbourhood, far from the queues of Spaccanapoli. At its heart stand two places that tell two thousand years of layered history, one above the other.

The basilica

The first is the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, built between 1602 and 1610 to a design by the Dominican friar Giuseppe Nuvolo, known as Fra Nuvolo. Its central plan and the dome, clad on the outside in yellow and green majolica, make it one of the most singular churches in the city. The structure was also conceived to incorporate a much older place that lies beneath it.

The catacombs

From a staircase set beneath the presbytery you descend to the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, an early Christian burial ground that preserves mosaics and frescoes of the late-antique period. It is an underground world that recurs in Naples: the city rests on tuff that can be dug, and every era has left cavities, tombs and cisterns in it.

The Cristallini hypogeum

A short distance away, in Via dei Cristallini, is the most surprising place. The Crypt, or Hypogeum of the Cristallini, is a complex of Hellenistic-era tombs, dug between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC, when Naples was Greek. Rediscovered in 1889 by Baron Giovanni di Donato during works in the family garden, it remained invisible for a long time and only in June 2022 was it opened to the public. The four chambers preserve decorations and refined trompe l'oeil effects of exceptional rarity.

Visiting the district

Visiting the Sanità means moving with respect in an inhabited neighbourhood, booking your entries and relying on the local cooperatives that have managed the sites for years. The neighbourhood shops, the workshops and the cafés benefit directly. You come to walk slowly, lift your eyes to the dome and then descend into the silence of the stone.

Related guides: Hidden Campania: secret villages and unusual places beyond Naples and the Coast · Little-known archaeological sites in Italy: the guide to off-the-beaten-track places · Not just Capri: islands and coastal villages of Campania without mass tourism.

How to get there

The Crypt is in the Rione Sanità, just north of Naples' old centre. The nearest metro stop is Museo-Cavour (Line 1 and Line 2, connected by an internal passage), from which you continue on foot towards Via dei Cristallini. From Napoli Centrale station it is easily reached by Line 2, while from Capodichino airport you can take the Alibus to Garibaldi and then the metro. The neighbourhood is best explored on foot.