13/10/2026
In Naples, even forgotten souls could find someone to care for them. This idea lies at the heart of the cult of the "anime pezzentelle", one of the city’s most distinctive traditions.
A person would “adopt” a "capuzzella", the anonymous skull of a soul in Purgatory, look after it and dedicate prayers to its salvation. In return, they might ask the soul for protection or intercession. What may appear macabre at first was, in fact, an act of care: a way of preserving the memory of someone whose name had been lost.
From 30 October to 2 November, Uànema – Festa degli altri vivi invites Naples to revisit this relationship between the living and the dead, drawing attention to the churches, burial chambers and devotional spaces where its traces remain.
Without the right context, it would be easy to present this tradition as a Neapolitan version of Halloween. This is why, as a tour operator, Mondo Guide considers the way a place is explained just as important as the place itself. The knowledge of a local guide helps travellers move beyond first impressions and understand the faith, social history and popular culture behind what they are seeing.
A journey becomes more meaningful when a visitor does not simply enter a place, but leaves with a better understanding of the community that created and preserved it.
Had you ever heard of the "anime pezzentelle"?
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