The Catacombs of San Gennaro are underground paleo-Christian burial and worship sites in Naples, Italy, carved out of tuff, a porous stone. They are situated in the northern part of the city, on the slope leading up to Capodimonte, consisting of two levels, San Gennaro Superiore, and San Gennaro Inferiore. The catacombs lie under the Rione Sanità neighborhood of Naples, sometimes called the "Valley of the Dead". The site is now easily identified by the large church of Madre del Buon Consiglio.
Fresco with the portrait of San Gennaro
Fresco in the catacombs of San Gennaro
Entrance to Catacombs of San Gennaro
One of the halls with carved loculi.
Januarius, also known as Januarius I of Benevento, was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Great Persecution, which ended with Diocletian's retirement in 305.
Copy taken from a portrait of Saint Januarius by Caravaggio
Ribera, Saint Januarius Emerges Unscathed from the Furnace, Naples Cathedral
San Gennaro procession in Naples, 1631
Martyrdom of Saint Januarius by Girolamo Pesce