9. Capuchin Crypt - Rome
The Capuchin Crypt is a small space consisting several small chapels found beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini near Piazza Barberini in Rome, Italy. The Capuchin Crypt shows the skeletal remains of 3,700 human bodies considered to be Capuchin friars buried by their order. The Catholic order insists that the display is not intended to be macabre, however a silent reminder of the quick passing of life on Earth and our own mortality.
Lots of the bones are nailed to the walls in intricate patterns, some are stacked high among countless others, while others hang from the ceiling as light fixtures. When monks passed away during the life time of the crypt, the longest-buried monk was exhumed to create space for the newly-deceased who was buried without a coffin, and the newly reclaimed bones were added to the ornamental motifs. Human bodies normally spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before becoming exhumed.
There are six total rooms in the crypt, five presenting a distinct show of human bones believed to have happened to be taken from the bodies of friars who had passed away between 1528 and 1870.
Never heard ghost story of this place although Rome is well known for its ghostly and mysteries sites. Nevertheless the fact that being inside The Capuchin Crypt is already a thrilling experience. With hundred of bodies being dressed in their moldy clothing and hanging by hooks on the wall surface, blended with musty, mineral scent of the hard soil ground. The bodies, in different levels of decay stare down taking a look at you like they are seeking you to join them.
It is often said that Sicilians have an obsession with death. It is still quite common to notice elderly Sicilian widows being dressed in black for the rest of their life along with a tradition of professional mourners once existed for hundreds of years. It will be difficult to say where this cult of the dead originates from, either from the deep rooted Catholic belief or simply a holdover from ancient Greek and Roman times. No matter what the sources, notions regarding death will remain alive in Sicily, and no location better exemplifies this than
The Capuchin Crypt.
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