Name of Monument:

Crypt of the Capuchins in the Church of the Immaculate Conception

Location:

Rome, Latium, Italy

Date:

1732–75

Artists:

Father Raffaele da Roma?; Father Norberto Baumgartner di Vienna?

Denomination / Type of monument:

Crypt

Patron(s):

Friars Capuchin of the Church of the Immaculate Conception

History:

The convent of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1626 by Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1569–1646), Capuchin brother of Urban VIII, near the large family palace. Fra Michele da Bergamo designed the building and followed the works, also creating, in 1631, an underground area used as a burial for both religious and lay people, located under the right chapels of the church. However, no contemporary descriptions remain of this initial stage of the crypt. In 1732 in the three underground chapels there were simply heaps of bones. The first source describing the crypt dates back to 1775: it is the travel diary of the Marquis de Sade which reports the great impression aroused by the decorations of those rooms made with bones and skulls. It is therefore believed that the decorative apparatus of the Crypt can date back to a period between 1732 and 1775.
Overall, the bones of about 3,700 people are collected, including the remains of the Capuchins moved here from the Convent of San Bonaventura.
As designer of the decorations, Father Raffaele da Roma (1732–1805) has been suggested, or alternatively Father Norberto Baumgartner of Vienna (1710–73), both Capuchin painters.

Description:

The six rooms that make up the Capuchin cemetery are known respectively with the names of Crypt of the Skeletons of Children, Crypt of the Tibias and Femurs, Crypt of the Pelvis, Crypt of the Skulls, Chapel of the Mass and Crypt of the Resurrection.
The various types of bones, due to their different shapes and sizes, were used for the creation of specific representations: for example, smaller bones such as vertebrae were used to draw plant motifs on vaults and walls or to make clocks, crosses and lanterns. The skulls were instead used for the supporting architectural structures of niches and arcosolia. In the cemetery skeletons of friars wearing the tunic can be seen, both lying and standing, leaning against walls or inside niches entirely made up of bones. The path through the six rooms embodies the spiritual itinerary and meditation on the mystery of death and resurrection: from the crypt with the skeletons of children (a real memento mori on the transience of life, where the beholder can also see, at the centre of the vault, the traditional skeleton with scythe and hourglass), the devotee goes through the rooms, reaches the chapel for the celebration of the mass, symbolizing the reunification of man with God through the Eucharist, and eventually enters in the crypt dedicated to the Resurrection, where a painting with the Resurrection of Lazarus by an unknown artist is displayed. An interpretation of this cemetery that would regard it exclusively as a grandiose memento mori or simply as representative of the taste of the macabre typical of the Baroque age would not do justice to the concept of “our Sister Bodily Death” celebrated by St. Francis of Assisi in his Canticle of the Sun: according to this interpretation, death is not to be feared but to be thought instead as a door to eternal life, and thus to be joyfully accepted. This is what those light-hearted, almost playful, decorative motifs made of small bones that chase each other on vaults and walls seem to suggest.

Walls and vaults of this crypt, dating back to the 17th century, are decorated with bones and skulls of the deceased friars. Striking example of Baroque memento mori.

How Monument was dated:

Contemporary travel literature.

Selected bibliography:

Cordovani, R., Cripta dei Cappuccini: Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione, Via Veneto, Roma, Rome: Edizioni Francescane Italiane, 2005.

Citation of this web page:

Pier Paolo Racioppi "Crypt of the Capuchins in the Church of the Immaculate Conception" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;it;Mon11;30;en

Prepared by: Pier Paolo RacioppiPier Paolo Racioppi

Laureato e specializzato in storia dell'arte presso l'Università di Roma “La Sapienza” sta conseguendo il dottorato di ricerca in Storia e conservazione dell'oggetto d'arte e d'architettura presso l'Università di Roma TRE. Ha svolto attività seminariali presso l'Istituto di Storia dell'Arte all'Università La Sapienza di Roma e attualmente è docente di storia dell'arte del Rinascimento presso la IES at Luiss (Roma).
Ha pubblicato diversi contributi sulla tutela artistica, il collezionismo e le accademie d'arte, ed ha collaborato al Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani dell'Enciclopedia Treccani.
Copyedited by: Janice MedinaJanice Medina

Janice Medina is an artist and educator based in Upstate New York. She studied interior design at Syracuse University and obtained her M.S. in Building Conservation in 2008 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Master of Fine Arts in 2019 (University at Albany).

Janice is a former participant in the US/ICOMOS International Exchange Program and she has taught courses in the history of design and historic preservation. Her artwork is influenced by her experiences in historic preservation, as well as by building materials and the natural environment.

Janice has participated as a copy-editor with Museum With No Frontiers since 2019. In this role she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects including Discover Islamic Art, Discover Baroque Art and Discover Glass Art.
Translation by: Lavinia Amenduni

MWNF Working Number: IT1 30