Sansevero Chapel and the Veiled Christ

What it is

The Sansevero Chapel is a Baroque funerary chapel in the heart of Naples' historic centre, a few steps from Spaccanapoli. Its official name is Santa Maria della Pietà, and in the city it is called the Pietatella. Construction began in 1593, but what you see today is the work of Raimondo di Sangro, seventh Prince of Sansevero, inventor, writer and patron, who reorganised it from the 1740s until 1766 and commissioned almost everything it contains.

Today it works as a private museum, the Museo Cappella Sansevero, and it is a short but very concentrated visit: in a single room you have some of the most astonishing sculptures of the 18th century.

What you see

• The Veiled Christ: in the centre of the nave, a dead Christ lying under a veil that looks like fine, wet cloth, carved from the same block of marble. It was sculpted by Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753. The commission had been given to Antonio Corradini, who died in 1752 without carrying it out.
• Pudicizia (Modesty): a female figure also covered by a transparent marble veil, by Corradini, from 1752.
• Disinganno (Release from Deception): a man freeing himself from a net, carved in marble by Francesco Queirolo. The net, openwork and separate from the body, is a technical tour de force.
• The ceiling: the fresco of the Glory of Paradise, by Francesco Maria Russo, dated 1749.
• The labyrinthine floor: a black and white marble pavement designed by Raimondo, which was damaged in a collapse in 1889 and relaid in 1901.
• The anatomical machines: in the crypt, two skeletons with a reconstruction of the system of arteries and veins, attributed to Giuseppe Salerno.

Opening hours and closing days

It opens every day from 9:00 to 19:00, except Tuesdays, when it is closed. Last entry is at 18:30. It is closed on 25 December, and on 24 and 31 December it opens only from 9:00 to 14:00. Other public holidays have special hours: check the museum's website.

Tickets and booking

Booking is compulsory. Tickets go on sale on the museum's website 60 days ahead and more are released two days before the date. They are not refunded, exchanged or cancelled once paid, so choose the day and time carefully.

• General: €12.
• Ages 18 to 26: €8.
• Ages 10 to 17: €6.
• Up to age 9: free.
• Person with a disability and companion: €7 for both.

The audio guide costs €3.50 (two for €6), lasts about 25 minutes and is in Spanish. There is also a route designed for children aged 6 to 12.

How long it takes and how to get there

Allow about 45 minutes with the audio guide. The chapel is at Via Francesco De Sanctis 19/21, a narrow street between Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali. From Dante metro station or Piazza del Gesù you arrive on foot in a few minutes along the Spaccanapoli walk. By car it makes no sense: the historic centre is a restricted traffic zone.

With children and accessibility

It is a single room with no long route, so it is not tiring, but children should be old enough to look calmly: the interest lies in the details of the marble. The audio guide's children's route helps. The museum has an accessibility section on its website and videos in Italian Sign Language; check there for the conditions of access to the crypt.

Combine it with

Five minutes away is the entrance to Napoli Sotterranea, in Piazza San Gaetano. Sansevero is a good first stop for a morning in the centre, and in the afternoon you can leave the city for Herculaneum by train.