In the heart of the Rione Sanità district, there’s a place where history isn’t “the past” but a living presence: the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, a Greek funerary complex from the 4th century BC carved into tuff stone, remarkable for the richness of its details and surviving pigments. From this layered relationship between time and matter comes Where You Never Die(Dove non si muore mai), a multidisciplinary publishing project curated by the Neapolitan collective South Manifesto(Federico Avella and Marco Basile).
A reflection on death without folklore
The book takes a clear position: it speaks about mortality, grief, and memory without slipping into sensationalism or cliché. Its conceptual framework links the ancient Greek understanding of death—also as a form of continuity—to contemporary Neapolitan voices, looking for an intimate language rather than a “spectacular” one.
OPENING NIGHT PHOTOS
Photography, interviews, and contributions: a layered narrative
The visual dimension is entrusted to British photographer Brett Lloyd, who documents the Hypogeum and the collection of vases discovered inside it through an approach shaped by light, silence, and mystery. The volume opens with a foreword by Cesare Cunaccia and is built around conversations edited by Francesca Emilia Minà, exploring how Naples relates to life and death from multiple perspectives.
Among the contributors: Don Antonio Loffredo, parish priest of Santa Maria della Sanità, who describes how the city continues to “live alongside” its dead; and filmmaker Antonio Capuano, reflecting on legacy and endings—on what remains in works and in people.
To complete the mosaic, the book also features an archival tribute granted by the Gianni Minà Foundation: an excerpt from the historic 2002 interview between Gianni Minà and Diego Armando Maradona, a powerful insertion into the South’s collective memory.
The emotional core: Francesca Vitucci-Sorrenti and Davide
One of the most intense chapters is the interview with photographer Francesca Vitucci-Sorrenti, who reflects on private and public grief after the loss of her son Davide Sorrenti. Vogue Italia focuses precisely on this conversation, highlighting the care with which Vitucci-Sorrenti has protected Davide’s visual legacy and the cultural differences between Italy and the United States in the way pain and mourning are lived.
A project that also involves the neighborhood
The book doesn’t remain confined to the page: the “Youth of Sanità” section gathers drawings by children from the Rione Sanità (Fondazione Pavesi), created after visiting the Hypogeum. Finally, the artwork Blank Sheet (Foglio Bianco) by painter Paolo La Motta acts as a visual seal for the entire reflection on life and memory.
Format and where to buy it
Where You Never Die is a 30×40 cm volume, 200 pages, with a leather cover, available through the official Ipogeo dei Cristallini shop for €100 (VAT included).
