5 things to know about chapel of Sansevero in Naples

18/08/2016

Author: Caterina Stringhetta

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5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CHAPEL OF SANSEVERO IN NAPLES

In Naples, near Piazza San Domenico (San Domenico Square), there’s the Chapel of Sansevero.
It is a 16th- century building, completely restored by Prince Raimondo di Sangro during the 18^th century, that houses some marvellous works of art.

5 things to know about the Chapel of Sansevero.

1.

When you visit the Chapel of Sansevero, you enter a world made of symbols and mysteries, bound up with the Enlightenment, Freemasonry and the charming personality of a man who created this place thanks his love for beauty and science.

2.

Prince Raimondo of Sansevero was born in Torre Maggiore, in the province of Foggia, in 1710.
He proved to be good at Art, Science and Technique when he studied at the Jesuit College in Rome.
He approached the Freemasonry environment due to his passion for sciences and alchemy.

The Christ Veiled | chapel of Sansevero in Naples

“Il Cristo Velato” (The Christ Veiled) created by Giuseppe Sammartini.

3.

The Chapel was considered a dark place because of Raimondo’s odd personality and his passion for alchemy.
It was said that that he had manage to change the blood of two living young guys into stone. After Raimondo’s death the legend enriched with other details when two skeletons, whose arteries and veins were clearly visible, were found in the underground of the chapel.

4.

Raimondo himself participated in the decoration of the chapel.
The chapel contains references to the Enlightenment and Freemasonry, but Raimondo also wanted to praise his own family.
The works inside the chapel began in 1740 and marvellous sculptures are housed there. The attention to details, especially to drapery and parts of the body is amazing.

5.

The most beautiful sculpture housed in the Chapel are: “La Pudicizia” (The Veiled Truth) by Antonio Corradini, dedicated to Cecilia Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona, mother of the Prince, who had died when Raimondo was a child; “Il Cristo Velato” (The Christ Veiled) created by Giuseppe Sammartino in 1753. This sculpture gained the admiration of Antonio Canova.

READ ALSO: Antonio Canova, life and works.