The Capuchin Crypt inside the Convento dei Cappuccini in Rome is not for the easily shocked. Inside are six chambers decorated with human bones, skulls and skeletons.
The most macabre attraction in Rome?
No-one knows who decorated the Capuchin Crypt in Rome, Italy. There are theories, but even the Capuchin monks themselves can’t pinpoint the artist.
This is probably just as well. If that artist was around today, he would be a prime candidate for a police hard drive check. In the 18th century, however, it was apparently fine to decorate rooms with human bones.
What is the Capuchin Crypt in Rome?
The Capuchin Crypt on Via Veneto is arguably the most ghoulish attraction in Rome. It is a 30 metre-long crypt attached to the Convento dei Cappuccini, split into six chambers. These chambers are decorated with the bones of 3,700 monks. And not particularly respectfully, either.
The Museum of the Capuchin Friars
Entrance to the Capuchin Crypt is via the particularly tedious Museum of the Capuchin Friars. You need not spend too much time on the museum. It is largely dry descriptions of the history of the Capuchin order.
While the museum is there to stop visitors just skipping to the crypt, you’re best of skipping to the crypt.
The gruesome spectacle kicks off with the Crypt of the three Skeletons. Here, thigh bones have been used to make arches. They’re topped with more bones and skulls.
Next is the Crypt of Tibias and Femurs. Along the side wall are four niches, each of which contains a skeleton dressed in a Capuchin habit. The niches, of course, are made of bones and skulls.
The Crypt of the Pelvis and Crypt of Skulls
The Crypt of the Pelvis, meanwhile, uses the pelvis bone as the artist’s muse. They cover the back wall, around three more habit-dressed skeletons with decaying heads.
The Crypt of Skulls is more for the skull enthusiasts. Two skeletons lie down in niches made of… oh, you guessed it.
The Crypt of the Resurrection
Only when you reach the final chamber, the Crypt of the Resurrection, does traditional art become a focus. Here, a painting of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus takes pride of place. Albeit surrounded by more bones and skulls.
Is making art from bones legal in Italy?
If you’re wondering how this sort of macabre art is allowed, well it isn’t any more. King Victor Emmanuel II outlawed the making of art from human remains in 1871. But before then, nothing prohibited the practice.
There was also a school of thought during the Baroque period that shock was good for people. It made them more receptive to receiving the Holy Spirit. And that, it appears, is the excuse the Capuchins are sticking to.
Capuchin Crypt ticket prices and opening hours
At the time of writing, tickets to visit the Capuchin Crypt at the Convento dei Cappuccini cost €10. The daily opening hours are 09.30 to 13.30, then 14.40 to 18.30.
For a double helping of disturbing decoration, it’s worth taking a tour that also visits the San Callisto Catacombs. The tours cost €65 and include transportation between the two sites.
More Rome travel
There are hundreds of tour options in Rome – a city where having a guide can help make sense of the history. Browse through a selection here.
Other Rome travel articles on Planet Whitley include
- Why Rome is a brilliant city for solo travellers.
- The two things Rome’s piazzas get wrong.
- Why I hated the Sistine Chapel.
- How Julius Caesar’s assassination site became a cat sanctuary.
- The most underrated places to eat in Rome.
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