Catacombs of San Gaudioso

The system of vast catacombs and caves beneath the city is the second largest cemetery in the city. They can be accessed through a passage in the crypt of the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, located under the main altar.

The oldest part of the catacombs was built at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries AD. In the middle of the 5th century, a bishop from North Africa, St. Gaudiosus. There are well-preserved frescoes and mosaics of the 5th-6th centuries. You can see symbols characteristic of the early Christian period, such as fish, lambs and grape branches.

The underground cemetery was abandoned in the late Middle Ages. It was then that the catacombs were partially damaged by landslides. Due to the tombs of saints located here, miraculous properties began in the 17th century.