L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano O ver the last two d e c a d e s , w e may have visit- ed more Italian churches than m a n y o f t h e m o s t d e v o u t churchgoers. We go there not t o w o r s h i p , b u t r a t h e r t o a d m i r e t h e m e d i e v a l a n d renaissance artwork, to gawk at the massive and ornate architecture, and to revel in the cool peacefulness that these centuries-old struc- t u r e s o f f e r t r a v e l e r s . W e a l w a y s m a k e s u r e t o v i s i t when it's appropriate – dur- ing open hours, when reli- gious services are not taking place. It's commonplace in many of these to find the remains o f t h e s a i n t t o w h o m t h e church is dedicated – and in s o m e c a s e s t h e i r e n t i r e mummified bodies – on dis- p l a y a t t h e a l t a r o r a s i d e chapel. But a few sites, scat- tered across the country, take t h i s i d e a t o a n e x t r e m e degree: entire churches – or o s s u a r i e s – d e d i c a t e d t o housing thousands of bones a n d i n t a c t s k e l e t o n s , t o honor in death the devotions and sacrifices that the former owners of these skeletons m a d e i n l i f e . D i s c l a i m e r : these sites are not for the faint of heart! One such site is right in the heart of Rome; as it's in the Embassy district quite far f r o m t h e b i g g e r t o u r i s t attractions, many visitors miss it. The upstairs of the Museo Cripta dei Frati C a p p u c c i n i i s a t y p i c a l church museum, replete with artworks and artifacts laying o u t t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e s i t e . N e a r t h e e n d o f t h e museum walk, though, the signage takes a turn, explain- ing the reason this church is unique: centuries ago, these Capuchin brothers decided to take a stand against Death – or rather, at least the fear of it. They created a series of chapels underneath the main church, using the bones of c o u n t l e s s g e n e r a t i o n s o f monks. These chapels are lit by lamps (which are them- s e l v e s m a d e o f h u m a n bone!), and filled with artis- tic creations of bones, as well as the mummified bodies of some of the more prominent m o n k s o f t h e t i m e . O n e intact skeleton represents a Grim Reaper figure, com- plete with scythe and a scale – both crafted in bone, of course! Our next ossuary site is far from Rome – some four hours to the northeast in Urbania, a small medieval river town in the Marche region. Here, the 14th centu- ry ex-church is now simply c a l l e d t h e C h i e s a d e i Morti, the Church of the Dead. The "Brotherhood of t h e G o o d D e a t h " h a v e looked after this church and cemetery since the 16th cen- tury, offering free burials to the locals. In the 1800s, an edict required bodies to be exhumed, for sanitary rea- s o n s . W h e n t h e b r o t h e r s complied, they discovered that these bodies had been naturally preserved. They were then displayed pub- licly, and they continue to b e , h e r e i n t h i s c h u r c h - t u r n e d - m u s e u m . R a t h e r t h a n m a k i n g a s t a t e m e n t about and against Death, as in Rome, the caretakers here were concerned simply with preserving the memory and dignity of the dead as best as they could. Scientific minds of the t i m e s a w t h e b o d i e s a s a n a t o m y a n d m e d i c a l lessons (without disturbing o r d i s f i g u r i n g t h e m ) , a s some had particular head wounds, signs of surgery, and indications of different maladies: for example, one of the women had died from an attempted Caesarean sec- tion. It wasn't until much later that it was discovered t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r t y p e o f mold had preserved these bodies; even today, they are not sealed shut, but exposed to the open air. I f y o u g e t c r e e p e d o u t easily, don't look up until the very end, lest you realize that the creepy light fixture ( l i k e s o m e o f t h o s e i n Rome's crypt) is made out of hip bones and skulls. T h e n e x t t w o s i t e s a r e within a few kilometers of o n e a n o t h e r , i n t h e h i l l s south of Lago di Garda in the region of Lombardia. The Ossuaries of Solferi- no and San Martino are both massive monuments to soldiers fallen in war. The scent of pine is strong at t h e s e O s s u a r y s i t e s , a n d there is the constant loud song of crickets and cicadas. In a large green space adja- cent to one of the Ossuaries, people were sunning them- selves and picnicking; in a little house right next door, a group of children at play cackled and screamed and laughed. J u s t s t e p s a w a y f r o m t h e s e m u n d a n e s c e n e s o f life, these churches house shelves and stacks of thou- sands of bones. After a series of bloody battles in the region in 1859, t h e l o c a l s c o l l e c t e d t h e bones of the dead and set them in the nearby church, creating grim and striking w a r m e m o r i a l s . N e a r t h e Solferino church is a muse- um with displays outlining the history of the town, the region, and the wars that ravaged them. At the San Martino site, there's also a tower – when it's open, visi- t o r s c a n c l i m b u p f o r a n expansive view of the terrain and imagine the chaos of w a r t h a t o n c e t o o k p l a c e over these fields and under the rooftops. An interesting side-note: as a result of the Solferino battle, a Swiss citizen had the idea to create an interna- tional war relief force, and also a series of agreements governing wartime behavior b e t w e e n f a c t i o n s ; t h e s e ideas ultimately led to the creation of the International F e d e r a t i o n o f R e d C r o s s Societies and the Geneva Convention. These are just a few of m a n y o s s u a r y s i t e s i n Italy. For travelers who are looking for thought-provok- ing – and chill-provoking – s i g h t s e e i n g , t h e s e s i t e s might be just what the bone doctor ordered. https://museoecriptacap- puccini.it/ https://visiturbania.com/ attrazione/cimitero-delle- mummie/ https://www.solferinoe- sanmartino.it/ About the authors: Zene- ba & Matt moved from the U.S. to Italy in 2019, where they live and work as per- f o r m i n g m u s i c i a n s a n d travel consultants. They are also authors of four award- winning travel guidebooks, and a new memoir, "I Can't Believe We Live Here: The Wild But True Story of How We Dropped Everything in t h e S t a t e s a n d M o v e d t o Italy, Right Before the End of the World." www.littleroadseurope.c om MATT WALKER W h e r e S a i n t s s l e e p a n d skeletons preach: Italy's bone shrines Ossuaries such as these are common across the country (Photo: Matt Walker) LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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