Naples Underground to the Rione Sanità: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from Naples Underground to the Rione Sanità: 4 stops, about 2.5 km, about 35 minutes of walking plus about 31 minutes of listening. Start with Naples Underground, the tuff quarries the Greeks began in the fourth century BCE, visited on a guided tour. Walk north to San Giovanni a Carbonara, three overlapping churches with a monumental royal tomb, and on to the Palazzo dello Spagnolo, famous for its falcon’s-wing staircase of 1738. Finish at the Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità, a Greek-cross church by the Dominican friar Giuseppe Nuvolo.
- Stops:
- 4
- Distance:
- about 2.5 km
- Walking:
- about 35 min
- Listening:
- about 31 min
Naples Underground to the Rione Sanità: how long does the walk take?
About 66 minutes in all: about 35 minutes on foot over about 2.5 km, plus about 31 minutes of audio at the 4 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Naples Underground to the Rione Sanità: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Naples Underground, San Giovanni a Carbonara, Palazzo dello Spagnolo, and Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.0 km, about 14 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
In the Second World War these caverns sheltered Naples, the most heavily bombed city in Italy, from the air raids.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: San Giovanni a Carbonara · about 1.0 km, about 14 min on foot
Stop 2
A complex of three overlapping churches, entered by a staircase, with a monumental late Gothic royal tomb in the apse.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Palazzo dello Spagnolo · about 0.8 km, about 10 min on foot
Stop 3
Built in 1738 for Nicola Moscati, Marchese di Poppano, it is famous for a staircase described as a falcon’s wing.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità · about 0.7 km, about 9 min on foot
Stop 4
Locals call it San Vincenzo, and its yellow and green tiled dome is one of the quarter’s most recognisable silhouettes.
about 10 min of audio
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Naples Underground. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
Plan more days in Naples
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Naples. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 20, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.