In the heart of Naples’ historic center, along Via dei Tribunali, stands the church of Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco, known to the Neapolitan people as the church “de’ ’e cape ’e morte” (of the heads of the dead), because it is set back from the street and its entrance is reached via a staircase with two flights of steps, in front of which are four lava-granite bollards topped with bronze skulls with crossed shinbones.
The church was built in 1616 at the request of several noble Neapolitan families, with the aim of creating a burial place for the city’s poor, those without family and without a home.
The structure was conceived on two levels: an upper church, rich and sumptuous, evoking the earthly dimension, and a crypt, a cemetery area, a spacious and austere setting that concretely represented Purgatory.
Indeed, caring for the souls of Purgatory was one of the main tenets of Church theology after the Council of Trent, and the entire decorative scheme of the Complex was designed to remind passersby and the faithful that the souls awaited a prayer for their benefit so they could be freed from the fire of Purgatory and ascend to Paradise.
In Naples, anonymous souls become objects of worship: those abandoned and nameless, whose bodies, having received no funeral rites, were buried in mass graves. The relationship is established through the adoption of a skull, traditionally considered the seat of the soul, which is chosen, cared for, tended, and housed in special niches. The anima pezzentella (from the Latin petere = to ask in order to obtain), anonymous or abandoned, invokes “refrisco,” relief from suffering, while the person who has adopted it, still alive, asks it for grace and assistance.
At the back of the crypt is a votive niche containing a skull with a bridal veil, adorned with a precious crown, surrounded by several candles, silver votive offerings, and gifts; its identity was not established due to the lack of documents concerning it, but it was given the name “Lucia.” There is an ancient legend because of which she is still the object of devotion among lovers and, above all, women seeking a husband.
A small museum, set up in the spaces of the elegant sacristy, completes the visit to what is considered one of the most fascinating places in Naples.
Learn about the Sanctuary
Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco Museum Complex
Via Tribunali, 39 – 80138 Naples
Tel. 081 440438
complessomusealepurgatorio@gmail.com
How to get there the Sanctuary
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