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THE SANSEVERO CHAPEL
  • The Sansevero Chapel
  • ORIGINS
  • Eighteenth-century splendour
  • Iconographic design
Iconographic design

The current appearance of the Sansevero Chapel corresponds to a very precise iconographic design, conceived by Prince Raimondo di Sangro and realised by the artists who worked under his supervision. From the main door, one enters the single nave, ending in an apse containing the High Altar. The two side walls have four rounded arches, each one containing a tomb, except the third arch to the left of the main entrance, where there is the side door, and the third arch on the right, that opens onto the Tomb of Raimondo di Sangro.

The tombs in the side chapels are dedicated to the illustrious ancestors of the di Sangro family, while the sculptures set against the pillars separating the arches are dedicated to the women of the household, past and present (except for Disillusion, erected to the memory of Antonio di Sangro, father of Raimondo). These statues are certainly the focal point of the Prince of Sansevero’s original iconographic design. In fact, they represent different Virtues, stages on a pathway to initiation leading to interior knowledge and perfection. No less important in the overall symbolic context is the floor with its labyrinth motif, designed by the Prince and laid by Francesco Celebrano. An ancient symbol, the labyrinth represents the arduousness of the journey towards knowledge.

The Veiled Christ, a world artistic masterpiece, was to have been – in the intention of the Prince – located in the Underground Chamber designed by di Sangro himself, in the Underground Chamber that was also to be have been used to house the future tombs of the Sansevero family, but which was never finished as the Prince envisaged it (the present appearance of the Chamber is the result of work completed after his death). The Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino was to have been illuminated by the flame of a perpetual lamp, invented by the Prince of Sansevero; it too evocative of esoteric symbolism.

The rich symbolism of the works in the Sansevero Chapel, whose complexity does not make them suited to a clear and unequivocal interpretation, does not explain the meaning of di Sangro’s project. As well as being a Temple of the Virtues and a home of philosophy, the Sansevero Chapel is also, and above all, a monument meant to exalt the rank of the Sansevero household, and immortalise the glory of its members. It should not be forgotten, furthermore, that when he commissioned the work, Raimondo di Sangro bore in mind the long theoretical, plastic and figurative tradition that had preceded him. The most obvious example being that almost all the allegories of the Virtues take as their model the iconographic principles of Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia (1593), a work for which – by no coincidence – di Sangro himself had financed a monumental new edition in five volumes. However, the Sansevero Virtues never imitate the model slavishly. Indeed they enrich it, modifying it and departing from it in many details, but always significantly.

The creative interaction between Raimondo di Sangro and his artists has made the Sansevero Chapel an inimitable place of art, magnificence and awe, and to it the Prince dedicated much of his life and wealth. An example of the care he lavished on each detail of his fascinating project is the fact that he left instructions in his will that his heirs should alter nothing of the layout and the symbolic display that he had conceived. For this reason it may be categorically stated that the Sansevero Chapel constitutes, more than any of his other inventions or literary works, the message that Raimondo di Sangro has left to posterity.

THE SANSEVERO CHAPEL
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Museo Cappella Sansevero
Orari
Orari di apertura dal 15 luglio 2021
Tutti i giorni: 9.00 - 19.00
Chiuso il martedì
Ultimo ingresso
30 min. prima della chiusura
Acquista il ticket online
Opening hours
Opening times from 15th July 2021
Daily: 9.00 am - 7.00 pm
Closed on Tuesdays
Last entry 30 mins before closing
Online tickets
Tariffe
  • Biglietto ordinario: € 8,00
  • Soci FAI: € 6,00
  • Ragazzi dai 10 ai 25 anni: € 5,00
  • Bambini fino ai 9 anni: gratis
  • Scuole: € 3,00 (tariffa valida solo nei giorni feriali)
  • Audioguida: € 3,50
Fees
  • Standard ticket: € 8.00
  • FAI members: € 6.00
  • Young people aged 10-25 years: € 5.00
  • Children up to 9 years: free
  • Schools: € 3.00 (this rate is valid on weekdays only)
  • Audio guide: € 3.50
Sezioni
  • Cappella Sansevero
  • Cristo velato
  • Raimondo di Sangro
  • Statue
  • Macchine anatomiche
  • Altre opere
  • Multimedia
  • Iniziative
  • News
  • Info
  • FAQ
Areas
  • The Sansevero Chapel
  • The Veiled Christ
  • Raimondo di Sangro
  • The Statues
  • The Anatomical machines
  • Other works of art
  • Multimedia
  • Projects
  • News
  • Info
  • FAQ
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  • THE SANSEVERO CHAPEL
    ▼
    • Cappella Sansevero – Progetto iconografico
    • Cappella Sansevero – Origini
    • Cappella Sansevero – Fasto settecentesco
  • THE VEILED CHRIST
    ▼
    • Cristo Velato – The masterpiece
    • Cristo Velato – The legend of the veil
  • Raimondo di Sangro
    ▼
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Altre Opere
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Hanno Detto Di Lui
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Life – Childhood and youth
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Life – His last years
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Life – Maturity
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Myth
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Opere letterarie e scientifiche
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Popular legends
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Rapporto Con Gli Artisti
    • Raimondo Di Sangro – Sperimentazioni
  • the Statues
    ▼
    • Statue delle Virtù – Decorum
    • Statue delle Virtù – Disillusion
    • Statue delle Virtù – Education
    • Statue delle Virtù – Liberality
    • Statue delle Virtù – Modesty
    • Statue delle Virtù – Religious Zeal
    • Statue delle Virtù – Self-control
    • Statue delle Virtù – Sincerity
    • Statue delle Virtù – Sweetness of the marital yoke
  • the Anatomical Machines
  • OTHER WORKS OF ART
    ▼
    • Altre opere – Dipinti – Madonna and Child
    • Altre opere – Dipinti – Pietà
    • Altre opere – Dipinti – Portrait of Vincenzo di Sangro
    • Altre opere – Dipinti – Ritratto di Raimondo di Sangro
    • Altre opere – Sacristy
    • Altre opere – Tomb of Raimondo di Sangro
    • Altre opere – Vault
    • Altre Statue – Monument to Alessandro di Sangro, Patriarch of Alexandria
  • Multimedia
    ▼
    • Multimedia – Video
    • Multimedia – Floor Labyrinth
  • Projects
  • News
  • Info
    ▼
    • Museo Cappella SanSevero – Altre Informazioni
    • Museo Cappella SanSevero – Dove Siamo
  • FAQ
  • Online Tickets
    ▼
    • Cappella Sansevero – Online tickets for schools
    • Cappella Sansevero – Acquista Ticket Visita Simboli e segreti
    • Italiano
    • English
Orari di apertura dal 15 luglio 2021
Tutti i giorni: 9.00 - 19.00 Chiuso il martedì Ultimo ingresso
30 min. prima della chiusura
Opening times from 15th July 2021
Daily: 9.00 am - 7.00 pm Closed on Tuesdays Last entry 30 mins before closing
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