Cemetery of Nuns, Aragonese Castle

Of all the rooms of the monastery of St. Mary the Consolator (Monastero di S. Maria della Consolazione), tourists can see only one place, the most unexpected and impressive.

Stone steps lead to a gloomy dungeon under the walls of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Below are several rooms with stone seating along the walls. The first thing that comes to mind is the latrine. But it's actually a cemetery of nuns (Cimitero delle monache).

The bodies of dead novices were placed on these seats, where their flesh slowly decomposed. Secretions flowed into special containers, the process continued until only bones remained from the deceased. After that, the skeletons were put together in a common crypt.

The Clarissin girls came down here every day to pray and meditate, and for several hours they inhaled fumes that were not conducive to health. This ritual served as a remarkable example of the futility of carnal existence, and forced to consider the body as a temporary receptacle of the soul. The uselessness of material remains was also emphasized by the fact that the bones were placed in a common grave.