Nitra Symposium

One of the best known but at the same time few studied examples of iconization of suffering is the Cult of the abandoned souls practiced in the so called "Fontanelle cemetery" in Naples. The Fontanelle cemetery is a big ossuary located in an ancient volcanic tuff cave in the historical district of Sanità, in Naples. The particularity of the Fontanelle cemetery is the fact that after the political unification of Italy, it become a place of a special cult of the skulls of the dead. The skulls were "adopted" by the Neapolitan population and kept in particular care. The cult of the skulls of the dead, called "cult of the abandoned souls", lasted in Naples until 1969. In that year the cult was abruptly interrupted by civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Relicts of the cult are still present among some of the city's elders. The symbolism of the cult was later picked up by renowned artists, such as Rebecca Horn, who was the author, in 2002 and 2012, of two installations in Naples referring to the skulls of the Fontanelle cemetery. Although it is a general opinion that the cult represents an iconization of suffering, very little has been done to understand the deep historical and cultural reasons of this suffering. In our contribution then, in addition to defining in detail the Cult of abandoned souls in Naples, and define some of the recent artistic expressions linked to it, we provide a possible answer to the question on the reasons that led a large part of the population of the city of Naples to adhere en masse to this cult.