About Capuchin Crypt (Bone Chapel)

This eerie crypt located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini is one of Rome’s most macabre yet fascinating attractions. The Capuchin Crypt (Bone Chapel) contains the skeletal remains of 3,700 bodies believed to be Capuchin friars and large numbers of the bones are nailed to the walls in intricate patterns, are piled high or hang from the ceiling as light fixtures. Although described as “one of the most horrifying images in all of Christendom,” the Catholic order insists that the display is meant to be a silent reminder of the swift passage of life on Earth and our own mortality.