Museo Cappella San Severo

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Editor Pick

Museo Cappella Sansevero

  • September 24, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by JulieHolm from Vienna, Virginia
This chapel in the old section of Naples houses some fascinating statuary. It used to be a church, but is quite clearly now a museum, with an entrance fee of a few Euro.

Getting to the chapel is part of the fun; you walk through the streets of Naples where people live, where you see grocers with their produce out on the street, kids going by on scooters and skateboards, women hanging wash from 10th floor clotheslines, which run from building to building over the street.

There is public art and statuary around the neighborhood, and several interesting other churches nearby including the Duomo.

Capelle Sansevero can be a tad difficult to find. We found Rick Steve's map and directions the easiest way to use, walking from the main train station. There are a couple closer stops, but we wanted to walk through the area, where my grandfather spent the first 16 years of his childhood.

Once inside the Chapel you are presented with an amazing baroque chapel. You are immediately drawn to the center of the room where you'll find the highlight, the statue of the Veiled Christ. This is Christ off the Cross, covered with a translucent, or possibly wet sheet, rendered in marble. The skill of this sculpture is amazing, the veil is so lifelike on the body, at places conforming to it so we see the body clearly underneath in some places, while in others the line of the body is blurred a bit by the light sheet over him. Walk around this sculpture slowly a couple of times and see how it changes, especially the face of Christ, as you walk. From some angles you will see pain, from others, peace.

After checking out the Christ, look at the other sculptures. These were done by a different artist, but they reflect a similar level of skill. Despair, who struggles with a net carved in great detail from marble, is a highlight almost as amazing as the Veiled Christ, but the others are as well rendered, if not as unusual.

Finally, as you leave, look up on the ceiling. This incredibly hopeful fresco, centering on the Holy Spirit, provides a hopeful balance to a chapel that is really about the death of Christ.

Before heading out on the street, make sure to go downstairs. You'll exit a door on the right side of the chapel (from the entrance) and pass over a floor which is tiled with a slight optical illusion. It looks like Escher built it. Down at the bottom of the stairs there are some strange mummies who have had their circulatory systems preserved. And their eyes. It is a tad wierd.

Alas you cannot take photographs here, so I have none. You can buy a book, which I did, of the chapel as a memento.

From journal Weekend in Napoli

Museo Cappella San Severo

  • May 24, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Makini from New York, New York
The Museum of the Capella of San Severo is located in the city of Naples. San Saverio was a famous philosopher. He was known for experiments on human corpses that he would purchase from the morgue. It is said that he created a liquid that embalms organs. In the museum you could check out the experiment. There were 2 bodies behind glass cases with only the organs and veins embalmed. You could see the red and blue veins as if the heart could still beat. It made quite an impression, especially since one body was of a pregnant woman. The caretakers are descendants of San Saverio. It is said that if this experiment were true he would have had to have made these people drink the embalming fluid while they were still alive. However, to date, the descendants refuse to allow anyone to test the experiment. The experiments are located in the basement of this church. Of course the church is a beautiful sight to see in itself. It also contains beautiful veiled statues by Prince Raimondo de Sangro.

Check out their website at www.ic-napoli.com/sansevero

From journal I Left My Heart In Naples

Editor Pick

Museo Cappella Sansevero

  • October 30, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by travel2000 from New York, New York
This chapel is in the heart of the Old Naples, locked away in a small alley. Be sure to check opening hours before you go. (Website: http://www.ic-napoli.com/sansevero/) You enter a discreet entrance, pay your tolls at the entry booth, and in a few more steps, you come face to face with the sculpture Christ in Veil in a small chapel covered with frescoes. This sculpture shows Christ laying beneath the intricate folds of the shroud covering his body. It is simply astounding how fluid this sculpture is. There is another equally fine sculpture of man struggling to free himself of fish netting. What a sight. It was hard to believe this was all carved from marble. This chapel was the playground of Prince Raimondo di Sangro in the 1700's. He was a scientist, alchemist, a curious man. He commissioned all the artwork and sculptures. In the basement, there are two experiments-'bodies' created by injecting lead into the veins and organs of one female and one male body. The result is a morbid yet intricate study of the human body. There is much debate on the authenticity of these subjects-see for yourself and decide. I was certainly sold, as I could not imagine any other way to obtain the results.

From journal The Gold of Naples

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