Cappella Sansevero

Legend has it that in the 16th century, a man being dragged off in chains to jail saw an image of the Blessed Virgin appear as he looked into the garden of the de Sangro palace. He made a vow that if he was proven to be innocent he would give a silver medallion to the image of the Madonna that he saw; which he did. This is said to be only the first of many miracles.

When years later, the first prince of Sansevero, Giovan Francesco Paolo de Sangro, was ill, he too went to the Madonna in search of a cure. In exchange for the miracle he’d been granted, it is said he had the chapel built where her image first appeared. It was his son Alessandro who began modifying the chapel and placed several tombs of his ancestors inside.

It is actually do to the 7th Prince of Sansevero that the Capella Sansevero is of great interest today. Prince Raimondo de Sangro of Sansevero was a learned man. He was a brilliant man; a student of law, literature, philosophy and alchemy just to name a few. He inherited his family title, fortune and power at a very young age.

He commissioned some of the greatest artists of his time, and worked with them to create masterpieces. The most well known of these works of art is the Veiled Christ created by Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753. This amazing sculpture shows Christ after he was taken off the cross, covered by a light veil. People are amazed at the detail shown in the creation of the sculpture such as the enlarged vein at the forehead. Some visitors have said that the expression on the face of the statue is captivating. At one angle you see suffering, at another peace. Some have expressed a desire to try and lift the veil because it seems so real though it is made of marble.

Another masterpiece in the chapel is the Disenchantment created by Francesco Queirolo. The prince had created this sculpture in honor of his father, Antonio. It shows a man getting himself out of a net with the assistance of a winged being. The net is said to represent sin and the flame on the winged beings forehead is said to represent enlightenment. Again, the delicacy of the net catches the eye.

There is another sculpture in the chapel. This piece is called the chastity created in 1751 by Antonio Corradini. This piece was dedicated the prince’s mother who died at the age of twenty. The statue is not quite a nude. It is also veiled like the Christ, again with that lifelike quality that makes people want to test that the veil truly is marble. It is the way the veil is draped and executed that gives off that air of modesty that has viewers amazed.

Last but not least is the prince’s own personal achievement. He somehow managed to preserve two bodies with intact blood, veins, arteries and some vital organs. There was some speculation as to whether these were just sculptures as well though they seem too perfectly executed not to be real. Assuming that these were indeed remains of people; to date no reports have yet told the secret of how Raimondo de Sangrio managed to preserve this much of the human body. The formulation remains his.

Address: Via de Sanctis 19, Spaccanapoli, Naples, Italy
Phone Number: 081 551 84 70
Cost of Entry: €5
Opening Hours: 10.00am-5.00pm Mon-Sat, 10.00pm-1.00pm Sun