Thursday 24 September 2009

The ossuary-crypt of Via Veneto

In the church of Santa Maria Immacolata in Via Veneto there is a crypt with 5 chapels. They are entirely decorated with human bones which were belonging to 4000 monks who lived there between 1528 and 1870. The decision of decorating the crypt with human bones may seem spooky, but in reality it is just a way to underline the deeply christian concept that the human body is just the container of the soul. So, after the death it can be reused also for...aesthetic purposes!