The Capuchin Crypt

The Capuchin Crypt is the strangest half hour in Rome, and for many visitors the most memorable. Under the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, at the foot of Via Veneto near Piazza Barberini, a narrow corridor runs past a series of small chapels whose walls and ceilings are covered with human bones. They belonged to Capuchin friars buried here over several centuries, and the friars arranged them into extraordinary decorative patterns: rosettes of shoulder blades, arches of skulls, hourglasses of pelvic bones, chandeliers hung with vertebrae, and in places complete skeletons dressed in the brown Capuchin habit. Each chapel has its own theme and name, such as the Crypt of the Skulls and the Crypt of the Pelvises. It is not meant to be macabre. The friars intended it as a meditation on mortality and the brevity of earthly life, summed up in the famous inscription that tells visitors, in effect, that what you are now, we once were, and what we are now, you shall be. Visits begin in the Capuchin museum, which explains the history of the order, its spirituality and its work in Rome, and displays objects, documents and art associated with the friars, including a painting attributed to Caravaggio. Only then do you reach the crypt itself, which brings the message home. The route is compact, and most people spend between thirty minutes and an hour here, making it an easy addition to an afternoon around the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Barberini and the Spanish Steps. It remains a sacred place, so modest dress is expected, silence is appreciated, and photography is not allowed in the crypt.

How to visit: tickets cover the museum and the crypt together, and the Tiqets venue page offers entry with an audio guide or a short guided tour, as well as longer tours that add the catacombs. The guided option is worth considering, because the museum's story of the Capuchin order gives the bones their meaning, and guides explain how the friars came to assemble the chapels. Lines are usually manageable, but the corridor is narrow, so at busy times visitors are let in steadily rather than all at once. Allow time to sit in the church above, which has its own fine altarpieces.

Who it suits: this is a powerful experience, but not for everyone. Most older children and teenagers find it fascinating, and many families say it was the sight their children talked about most. Very young or sensitive children may find it upsetting, so judge your own family; there is nothing gruesome, but there are a great many skulls. Visitors who expect a ghoulish attraction are often surprised by how quiet and reflective it feels. Dress as you would for any Roman church, with shoulders and knees covered, and respect the no-photography rule, which is enforced.

Location makes it easy. The church is a two-minute walk from Barberini Metro station, and from here the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and Palazzo Barberini, home to the national collection of old masters, are all within ten minutes on foot. A good half day is the Capuchin Crypt, then Palazzo Barberini, then down to Trevi for a gelato. For history buffs, it pairs well with the Catacombs of St Callixtus on the Appian Way, which show a very different early Christian approach to death and burial, and several tours on the same venue page combine the two.