SAN GAUDIOSO CATACOMB

The catacombs developed around the burial site of San Gaudioso, a Tunisian bishop who landed in Naples around 439 AD, fleeing the Vandal invasion. The walls are decorated with frescoes and mosaics from the early Christian period. During the Middle Ages, the catacombs underwent a long period of abandonment: the area was regularly devastated by mudflows caused by erosion of the surrounding hills, and the relics of San Gaudioso were transferred inside the city walls. But the site was given a second lease of life in the 17th^century , when it became the burial place for aristocrats and members of the clergy. During the visit, you can see the niches used for scolatura ("draining"), a process by which the body was installed so as to lose body fluids, which flowed into containers. The bodies were then placed underground to decompose, after which the bones were cleaned. This was followed by a very special practice: while the bones were walled up, only the skull was exposed from the wall, the rest of the skeleton being painted and adorned with clothing or attributes revealing the function or dignity of the deceased during his or her lifetime. The result is a curious and macabre gallery of characters. It's worth noting that the painter of these figures, Giovanni Balducci, gave up his fee for the privilege of being included in this morbid collection.