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The Capuchin Crypts |
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beneath santa maria della concezione, across from the Hard Rock Cafe, Rome, Italy. |
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I remember telling my boss about the trip to Italy that I would be taking through Lake Erie College upon graduating from the school. He and his wife went to Rome and points north, although our class was taking the Rome and points south journey. He told be about Trevi Fountain, and of course the statues I'd see- all the typical touristy stuff that in a way I really wanted to see, but on the other hand, I wanted tosee more than what everyone sees. He continued on about the Statue of David, the Vatican and drinking fine wines. He did happen to mention one place that was not on our agenda. This place caught my complete attention, and from that day on I was determined to go to one place in Rome where I doubted I could convince any other to accompany me. (I was right, no one went with me).
There is a church, a crypt really, completely decorated with the remains of the brotherhood. The chandeliers were created from vertebrae and finger bones. The wall decor was artfully arranged pelvis and femur bones. Skulls and arms were stacked 3 feet high and pyramided to create crypts for the higher members of the bretheren.
My boss was 100% right. It was not morbid or disgusting. It had a macabre element to it, but artistically it was a magnificient ossuary.
There were 7 rooms in this tiny little area. The first room was dedicated to Mother Mary. This is the only place that is completely void of visible bones. There are three bodies burried in the walls, but not visible to the spectators.
The last room was the most difficult for me, and the most thought provoking.
After seeing the sole remains of 4,000 dead friars, things started to look the same. When I arrived in the final room, they still had the far wall arranged with the arms and skulls, the skulls lining the doorframes, and the functioning chandeliers of bones. However, one major difference was the symbolism found in this room and in no other.
There were the tinyk, fragile remains of a small child suspended from the ceiling with a femur sythe in one hand, and a bony scale in the other. This child was the symbol for death. On the far wall were three more children, all with an hourglass created from fibulas and ulnas over their heads. There was a sign that included the words: |
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What you are now, we used to be-
What we are now, you will be. |
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It was a very melancholy and somber experience. I wasn't allowed to take flash photography in the crypt, but I did manage to get a couple of postcards from the front area of the church. Also, thanks to the internet, I could get a couple of "photos" for the purposes of this website in order to display. I really wanted to be able to properly illustrate this part of the trip, considering how I fled from the Vatican only to get lost finding the subway system. Then, after I FINALLY got on the subway and found my way to the crypt, they were closed for meditation. I walked around, found the Hard Rock Cafe across the street, walked around for a few hours on my own and returned at 3:00 pm. I then returned to the hotel, changed and grabbed a couple of friends to hit the Hard Rock that evening. That was the first time I saw people I knew all day long. It was the first time in 9 days that I had any time alone, and I am one of those people that need one hour daily to just chill out in solitude. As much as I enjoyed the group, I was thankful for that time alone. That night the three of us that had dinner at the Hard Rock had so much more to discuss because of our seperate adventures in Rome.
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click on the photo on the left to visit another link regarding this amazing crypt. she includes some history and excellent photos. |
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