The Napolitaner N.08 - Il Cimitero delle fontanelle

Elisa Vitullo's illustration symbolically depicts the Cimitero delle Fontanelle in the Sanità district. The water flowing among the skulls recalls ancient times, when the site—before becoming a cemetery and originally a tuff quarry—was home to natural springs. The small waterfalls symbolize purification and embody the connection so dear to Naples between the world of the living and that of the dead. In this place, "popular piety" is directed toward the souls in Purgatory—souls whose bodies did not receive a proper burial—asking for their protection and guidance in daily life, in exchange for care and prayers so that they may finally reach Paradise. As the Neapolitans say: "Frisc' all'anema d' 'o Priatorio."