In Piazza Sanità in Naples stands the seventeenth-century basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. Built between 1602 and 1610, the structure is known by the inhabitants of the neighborhood as the church of San Vincenzo 'O Munacone, that is the monacone, because it houses a famous statue of San Vincenzo Ferreri who, according to tradition, saved the city from a cholera epidemic.
The basilica is considered one of the best works of the Dominican architect Fra 'Nuvolo, who gave shape to a splendid example of the Neapolitan Baroque. The basilica was born as a sign of devotion of the faithful to the Madonna, in fact the oldest depiction of the Madonna in Naples is preserved in one of the chapels, a fresco dating back to the period between the fifth and sixth centuries.
Under the Basilica of Santa Maria then there are the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, a real necropolis. They represent the second most important early Christian cemetery in the city after the Catacombs of San Gennaro.
The catacombs are named after Gaudioso the African and, in addition to the remains of the saint, also contain early Christian and 17th century elements, 5th-6th century frescoes and mosaics and some tombs reserved for nobles, dating back to the 17th century. Sixteenth century a fresco of the Madonna was found here until then covered by mud: it is the Madonna della Sanità (V - VI century), the oldest representation of Mary in Campania.