Santa Maria Della Concezione Crypts
 Crypta Cappuccini.jpg by Wikimedia Commons
Filled with the human bones of more than 4,000 monks, these crypts make one reflect on the purpose of life, or at least on its brevity. The crypts were used to bury friars of the Capuchin order, who were exhumed and transferred to the crypts to be remembered by their own order. Bones from 1500 all the way to 1870 line the walls.
While it should be kept in mind that the crypts are to be held in respect, they also offer some unusual artwork. The human bones are laid out in designs throughout the crypts, some in circular patterns and other skeletons still dressed in the monk attire. Themed rooms are also common among the bones. There is a room with skulls stuck to the walls. There is even a room full of pelvis bones in ornate shapes. The crypts are located under the chapel Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, translated to mean Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins. The Church was built in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII, whose brother was a Capuchin friar. The church is significant in its own right, containing several important artworks. Among these are a Nativity by Lanfranco (1632), Prayer in the Gethsemane by Baccio Ciarpi (1632), and St. Michael the Archangel by Guido Reni (1635). |
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