Sansevero Chapel

Raimondo di Sangro, prince of Sansevero, remade this family chapel in the 1740s and 1750s as a single programme of sculpture and painting. Giuseppe Sanmartino carved the Veiled Christ in 1753 from one block, with the shroud lying over the body so thinly that its origin was disputed for centuries, with rumours that the prince had taught the sculptor to crystallise a real cloth into marble; it is carved. Antonio Corradini's Modesty and Francesco Queirolo's Disillusion, a man freeing himself from a net cut entirely in stone, flank it. In the basement stand two anatomical models with the vascular system preserved, whose method is still debated.

History

The chapel goes back to 1590, when John Francesco di Sangro, Duke of Torremaggiore, recovering from a serious illness, had a private chapel built in the gardens of the family palace. Alessandro di Sangro made it a family burial chapel in 1613, as the inscription over the entrance records, and Raimondo di Sangro gave it its final form. Its other name, Pietatella, comes from a painting of the Virgin, the Pietà, said to have been seen there by an unjustly arrested prisoner (Wikipedia, Cappella Sansevero).

What you'll find

• The Veiled Christ - a shroud carved from the same single block.
• Disillusion - a stone net cut free from the figure it wraps.
• Modesty - a veiled female figure by Corradini.
• The anatomical machines - two skeletons with preserved vascular systems.

When to go

Year-round; the chapel closes Tuesdays and slots are timed with limited numbers. Booking online avoids long queues, which are common most of the year.

Practical notes

Photography is prohibited throughout. Timed slots sell out and queues without booking are long. The chapel is one small room, about forty minutes.

Nearby

Spaccanapoli runs alongside; San Gregorio Armeno is close.

Key facts