The church of the Immaculate Conception located in the medieval village of Capocastello, dates back to the 17th century. The façade is remarkable, characterized by a stone portal above which there is a niche that contains a majolica of the Virgin. Inside, the painting on the ceiling is the work of Michele Ricciardi di Sanseverina.
But the church hides, underneath itself, a very interesting crypt, which reveals inside two rooms, carved into the rock, used in past centuries to mummify the bodies o read more
The church of the Immaculate Conception located in the medieval village of Capocastello, dates back to the 17th century. The façade is remarkable, characterized by a stone portal above which there is a niche that contains a majolica of the Virgin. Inside, the painting on the ceiling is the work of Michele Ricciardi di Sanseverina.
But the church hides, underneath itself, a very interesting crypt, which reveals inside two rooms, carved into the rock, used in past centuries to mummify the bodies of the deceased, using drainers or "cantarelle": the bodies were placed on special seats, equipped with drainage, through which the body fluids flowed. Interesting is the survival over the centuries of the refrigerium, a conduit located in a corner of the sacristy of the Church above, where holy water was poured, purifying for the souls of the deceased.
The restoration of the Crypt has returned ceramic fragments, iron and bronze buckles, devotional medals and a series of buttons, belonging to the buried people: the oldest date back to the 16th - 17th century, the latest are from the 19th century, produced by the “Hudson’s Bay Company”, the oldest commercial company in North America. read less
