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Review:
Fontanelle Cemetery Caves are a mixture of natural caves, ancient tunnels built by both Greeks and Romans, and tufa mines turned ossuary. During a 1656 plague outbreak and cholera outbreaks during the 1830s, the dead were tossed into the ossuary with little regard and no ritual. Eventually, after a rain-induced flood which caused numerous bones and skulls to be washed onto the streets of Naples, Fr. Gaetano Barbati organized and catalogued the remains. During WWII, the ossuary became a bomb shelter for the living. Following the war, it developed a cult following that caused the Cardinal of Naples to close it to the public. Today, visitors can tour the ossuary by appointment.
Via Fontanelle, 80, Napoli, Italy, Phone: +39-08-17-95-61-60
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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