07_21_09_ Cappuchin Crypt

Cappuchin Crypt_01

This crypt, located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione on Via Veneto holds the bones of more then four thousands monks. The bones come from monks who died between the years 1528 and 1870. The bones are strategically placed around the basement of the building. Arranged in designs on the walls are the finger and toe bones, while the arms and legs make up designs on the ceiling. In the center of it all are rooms filled with the skulls and pelvic bones of the deceased. Additionally, there are whole body replicas lying amongst the bones, some even dressed in the robes that the monks wore during their life. The soil that lines the floor of the basement was brought from Jerusalem.
As one walks through the crypts they eventually hit a dead end and are forced to turn around and walk back through. However, not before seeing the morbid sign at the end of the hallway. The sign reads: What you are now, we used to be, what we are now, you will be. Although doomful and morbid this sign is meant to inform the visitor that life is short and that all will eventually meet their end. A useful thing to remember as visitors depart back to the world of the living.
Samantha Russo, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Scranton

Cappuchin Crypt_02

Cripta dei Cappuccini, Commissioned by Antonio Barberini, began in 1626 A.D., concrete and human bones. (Taking pictures inside of the crypt is not permitted).

This crypt is the cemetery to about four thousand Capuchin friars. It is next to the church of Santa Maria della Concezione. The crypt is a small space of five chapels that house the remains of many Capuchin friars. It took about 100 years to complete. The bones are the Capuchin friars in the crypt were assembled together to create many Christian symbols such as crucifixes, crowns of thorns and sacred hearts. A sign found in the last chapel reads “What you are, we used to be. What we are, you will be.”
This crypt is essentially a burial chamber for the Capuchin friars. The more than four thousand Monks buried in the crypt all died between 1528 and 1870. The design of the Monks’ remains cannot be attributed with certainty to any one person, but it is led to believe the crypt first started with the Monks bringing the remains of their fellow deceased monks and lining up the bones in the crypt.
I chose this work because it is astounding to see the creativity of whoever came up with the idea to gather human bones and assemble them into figures. The amalgamation of all these bones of former friars highlights that ultimately we are all the same when death strikes, regardless of who we were during our human lives. Romans were most likely amused with the design of this crypt. I would be lead to believe that they’re reactions were not unlike those of modern day Romans and tourists.
Nicole Erazo, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Florida

Cappuchin Crypt_03

One of our trips this week was to a very unique church named Santa Maria della Concezione. This church was very interesting because unlike any other church we have previously visited, the crypt was decorated with the bones of thousands of dead monks.
The church was constructed under the reign of Pope Urban VIII, who had a brother who was a monk himself, which most likely lead to the interesting choice of decoration. The bones of over 4,000 dead monks, who were buried from 1500 to 1870, cover the majority of the interior walls of the crypt. This is shocking to see at first, since it is not anything like the interior decorations of the many other buildings and churches we have visited, which usually consist of beautiful gold and marble. This also shows how differently death was viewed by Romans many years ago than it is by Americans today. Not very many people would be comfortable decorating a crypt with the remains of dead monks, but hundreds of years ago, when the crypt was constructed, it was considered acceptable. The most eerie part of the crypt was at the end, when a plaque in one of the chapels says “What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.” This clearly serves as a reminder to everyone that visits that we all die one day and perhaps that we should be prepared for this inevitable event. Although this is considered more of a crypt than a church, it is still an amazing work of art with a very interesting choice of medium. For this reason, this monument serves as one of the more popular tourist attractions in Rome, especially because of its unique characteristics.
Patrick Brady, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John’s University