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Haunting

Capuchin Crypt

Beneath a Roman church, 4,000 monks' bones create macabre art. Entire skeletons posed. Vertebrae chandeliers. Skulls arranged in flowers. A plaque reads: 'What you are now, we once were. What we are now, you shall be.' The monks still pray.

1631 - Present
Rome, Italy
100000+ witnesses

The Capuchin Crypt reminds visitors of their mortality.

The History

1631:

  • Capuchin monks
  • Moved to new church
  • Brought their dead
  • 4,000 brothers
  • Over centuries

The Rooms

Six chapels:

  • Crypt of Skulls
  • Crypt of Leg Bones
  • Crypt of Pelvises
  • Crypt of Three Skeletons
  • Mass Chapel
  • Crypt of Resurrection

The Art

Made from bones:

  • Full robed skeletons
  • Bone chandeliers
  • Floral patterns
  • Clocks (time/death)
  • Memento mori

The Message

The famous plaque:

  • “What you are now”
  • “We once were”
  • “What we are now”
  • “You shall be”
  • Mortality reminder

The Activity

What’s felt:

  • Presence of monks
  • Prayer heard
  • Peace sometimes
  • Unease others
  • Spiritual location

Today

Current status:

  • Open to public
  • No photography
  • Spiritual site
  • Tourist attraction
  • Still Capuchin order

Sources

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