This Naples Neighborhood Was Once Forgotten: Now It’s One of the Coolest in Italy

For years, Naples’ Rione Sanità was one of the city’s most overlooked districts. Today, however, it has become a symbol of regeneration and an essential stop on any Neapolitan itinerary. Amid historic palazzos, catacombs, vivid street art and enduring local traditions, this neighbourhood is where Naples’ soul (poised between the sacred and the profane) comes most vividly to life.

Its transformation has not escaped notice abroad: in 2022, the British magazine Time Out named it one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world. Since then, the quartiere has strengthened its status as an essential stop for anyone keen to experience Naples beyond the usual tourist trail. We returned to Rione Sanità in 2026, and here is what we loved most.

Beyond the northern edge of Naples’ old viceroyal walls, at the foot of the Capodimonte hill, lies an area long prized for its healthy air and natural beauty: Rione Sanità. Its very name – “Sanità” – is said to derive from this reputation. Yet in the 17th century, the neighbourhood also played a crucial role during one of the city’s darkest chapters, when it was designated as a quarantine zone to combat the plague that swept Naples.

The area has been inhabitedsince antiquity and has always been beyond the city walls, so much so that it was used by both the Greeks and the Romans as a burial place. As evidence of this history, you can find several complexes of Hellenistic hypogea and early Christian catacombs.

The Rione Sanità, as we know it today, began to take shape during the 16th century, when it was intended to accommodate important noble and bourgeois families of the city of Naples, of which there is still evidence today.

Today, the district is one of the most popular in Naples and has lost its aristocratic connotation becoming a true cradle of popular folk art in the city of Naples, attracting tourists from all over the world.

Discover the 10 best things to see in the  Rione Sanità, the best neighborhood in Naples for history, tradition, culture and art:

– The house of Totò, the iconic Neapolitan actor

– Old catacombs

– Street art

– Ancient aristocratic palazzi

– The Vergini quarter

– Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità

– Capodimonte Museum

– MANN – Naples National Archaeological Museum

– Fontanelle Cemetery

In the heart of Rione Sanità is the home of Antonio De Curtis, the famous artist known as Totò.

Although the building cannot be visited, it has become a place of 'pilgrimage' for fans and onlookers of the famous Principe della Risata (prince of laughter). In fact, in Via Santa Maria Antesaecula and the surrounding areas, everything reminds one of Totò, from the small paintings affixed to the neighbourhood's alleys to the stencils and murals dedicated to him.

One of the most visited and photographed things dedicated to Totò is the bronze bust by the artist Salvatore Scuotto, while in the centre of the district, in the square in front of the famous lift, there is a sculpture depicting a silhouette of the much-loved actor who entertained generations of Italians.

The catacombs of San Gaudioso are one of the most visited and interesting spots in the entire Sanità district. The catacombs are located under the church of the Madonna della Sanità and are much smaller than those of San Gennaro in the district.

Their size and shape derive from the catacombs created to house the remains of San Gaudioso, but after the further displacement of these relics, the catacombs were gradually abandoned. Today, they have become one of the masterpieces of the Sanità district.

Another unmissable highlight in the Sanità district is its murals, which serve as vibrant tributes to the city’s art and history. 

Among the best works you can encounter are undoubtedly the murals in vico Buongiorno by Facte and the murals in vico Misericordiella entitled "Nu 'mmescà 'e fantasme cu ll'angiule - Don't mix up ghosts with angels", a work in favour of integration. 

Going down vico Lammattari you can also encounter stencils by artist Alex Senna, while arriving in piazza Sanità you can be amazed by no less than three murals: "Resis-ti-amo" by Argentine artist Francisco Bosoletti, painted on the façade of the seventeenth-century basilica, "Luce" by Tono Cruz, and the famous "Tienime, ca te tengo" on the lift pylon of the Sanità bridge by Jerico Cabrera Carandang, showing two young people in a heartfelt embrace.

Related story – The street art tour of Naples 

Palazzo dello Spagnuolo is a monumental building located in Borgo dei Vergini, one of the gateways to the Sanità district. It’s one of the masterpieces to be seen in all of Naples, not only in Sanità.

The name comes from Tommaso Atienza, known as “the Spaniard” (Spagnuolo), who purchased it at the end of the eighteenth century, while the building's construction features are attributed to the famous Neapolitan architect Ferdinando Sanfelice, who created one of the most beautiful monumental staircases ever seen in Naples with a system of wide arches that followed the course of the stairs.

The palace has often been the site of film sets and in the next few years will also house the Totò museum, still under construction.

Borgo dei Vergini is the entrance to Sanità from Piazza Cavour and includes all of Via Vergini and Piazza Sanità up to the widening of the Ospedale San Gennaro, also known as Ospedale dei Poveri.

As you walk through this small hamlet, you will realise that it hides all the typical traits of the Neapolitan city and tradition, with its beating heart due to the many daily shops and the façades of the ancient aristocratic palaces built between the 17th and 18th centuries that stand alongside churches and basilicas from three centuries earlier.

Its name has a religious origin, once again linked to archaic Naples. In these places lived a group of people, the Eunostidi, who, it is said, were devoted to temperance and chastity.

This is one of the most visited places in Rione Sanità. Today, it also stands as a symbol of cultural regeneration, thanks to the efforts of young residents and local cooperatives who organise guided tours. Located on the edge of the Capodimonte hemicycle, the catacombs form an atmospheric gateway to the neighbourhood.

Visiting the catacombs of San Gennaro allows one to revisit the relationship of Greco-Roman Naples with the world of the dead. In a place where there has always been a mixture of the sacred and the profane, where the Christian faith and the folklore of tradition and pagan customs mingle in everyday life.

Accessing the catacombs also allows one to experience underground Naples, used as a refuge first during the persecution of Christians and then during the World Wars.

In these tufa caves, you can still see the ancient burial spaces used nearly two thousand years ago. For a time, the relics of San Gennaro – the city’s patron saint – were also kept here, before being transferred to Naples Cathedral.

The Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità is one of the works of the architect Fra Nuvolo, born Vincenzo de Nuvolo, and is one of the most excellent examples of Baroque architecture in Naples. In fact, it features the sinuous lines typical of Neapolitan Baroque.

The basilica was built between 1602 and 1610 with the famous yellow and green majolica dome that stands out on the Magdalene Bridge.

The plan of the church, also known as San Vincenzo alla Sanità or 'o Munacone' for the statue of St Vincent Ferrer inside, is in the shape of a Greek cross, with the presbytery side raised to incorporate the previous basilica built during the early Christian period. The presbytery also provides access to the catacombs.

Palazzo Sanfelice is one of the landmarks, if not the real symbol, of Naples' Sanità district. It was built in 1724 by the Neapolitan architect Ferdinando Sanfelice. It served as the private residence of several noble families who wanted to escape the city's chaos and enjoy the tranquillity of an area bordering Capodimonte hill.

The building was constructed using the existing structure of an adjacent palace. Upon entering, you will immediately recognise one of the peculiarities of Sanfelice's architecture, namely the falcon-winged staircase overlooking a beautiful garden at the back.

The interior was completely decorated with frescoes commissioned by Francesco Solimena and overlooking sculptures by Giuseppe Sammartino. Today, only the stuccoes remain to hint at this glorious and opulent past, yet the site continues to attract and captivate visitors.

French contemporary artist Zilda created a work here, along the stairways of the Sanfelice palace. The piece, titled “The Wind Weighs as Much as Chains,” depicts a naked, chained man seen from behind, his head bowed as he gazes at the sea with Vesuvius looming in the background.

On the edge of the Sanità district are two of the most important museums in Naples: the Capodimonte Museum, inside the Royal Palace, and the MANN, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Inside the Royal Palace of Capodimonte, some of the most beautiful and iconic works of European art are kept. Titian, Michelangelo, Raphael, Masaccio, Parmigianino, Carracci, Ribera, Giordano, Caravaggio are just some of the painters and artists you can find in the Capodimonte Museum, together with great works of 19th-century and contemporary Neapolitan production.

The National Archaeological Museum, on the other hand, houses some of the best finds from the city's excavations, as well as from Pompeii and Herculaneum and remains from imperial Rome, together with a section containing the Egyptian collection, with objects dating back 5000 years.

Last but not least, the Fontanelle Cemetery is a remarkable historical site.

The charnel house holds the remains of those who could not be given a dignified burial, as well as victims of epidemics that struck the city.

It was here that the ritual of the "anime pezzentelle" took place: Neapolitans have long sought otherworldly favours by adopting and caring for skulls in the ossuary.

After years of restoration, the Fontanelle Cemetery reopened to visitors in the spring of 2026 and is now one of the attractions included in the Naples Pass.