Santa Maria della Conchezione called one of the most unusual churches in the world. If you look at the facade, it seems to be the most ordinary building in Rome, however, it is better for unprepared visitors not to go there. The crypt of the church consists entirely of wall patterns made of thousands of human skeletons.
In 1626, Pope Urban VIII decided to build a church of the Capuchin Order. Its construction was carried out by Antonio Casoni. The Church of Santa Maria della Conchezione was painted by such famous artists as Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Domenico. When the construction was completed 5 years later, the monks transferred to the crypt the remains of the Capuchins, who had previously rested in the old cemetery in the vicinity of the Trevi Fountain.
According to the beliefs of the Capuchin monks, skeletons should not be viewed as something terrible. "Memento mori (" Remember death ")" - they loved to repeat. A hundred years later, jewelry for the crypt began to be made from the remains of the dead. In five rooms you can see Baroque patterns made of human bones, chandeliers of hundreds of vertebrae. In one of the niches formed there are skeletons in monastic vestments. For the faint-hearted tourists, their ominous appearance makes an indelible impression. In total, the remains of 4,000 monks were used to equip this ossuary (ossuary).
In the 17th century, clergy often practiced prayer with a skull in their hands in the middle of the crypt. In one of the chapels of the church there is a memorial plaque with an inscription in three languages: “Once we were what you are now. Someday you will be what we are now."
In the most romantic city in the land of Paris, you can also find ossuaries. But their scale is amazing. it catacombs under the city, in which more than 6 million people are buried.
