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Essays II The Unfamiliar DEATH,LIVING RESURRECTION ANDTHE // LAURATRADII OSSUARIES: http://journals.ed.ac.uk/unfamiliar/ ISSN: 2050-778X L. Tradii 37 - - - grace - or fa- The Unfamiliar The warning mori memento

The ossuary of the Cemetery of the Fontanelle in Naples in Naples Fontanelle of the the Cemetery of The ossuary of attri very singular procedure by a was characterized bution of meaning which evolved throughout time as we as we time throughout which evolved of meaning bution will presently see. In 1656, the local tuff caves began to plague. of bubonic victims for the as mass graves used be cemeteries in local to diminish space began As burial and churches, bones were exhumed and carried to such ground. burial now part of the Fontanelle are caves that By 1863, when the caves were last filled with the skel- very a epidemic, cholera a of victims of the remains etal cult This the bones. around had developed cult particular many anonymous of one of the consisted in the ‘adoption’ praying for a particular skulls, with people developed resurrection, and of death conceptions ent Delle places. In the case of the Cimitero around similar evolved place to the attributed meaning the Fontanelle, in a rediscov- itself through the centuries, materializing in and shunned area, and problematic of a formerly ery unknown the toward value sentimental of a attribution the the ossuary is therefore around The cult developed dead. re- of the logics and local tradition in popular embedded and kinship rather resurrection between death, lationship dogma which amount to religious con- than in Catholic of Santa Maria the and symbolism. In the vault ceptions con- By explicit. are mortality after separation of symbols Delle Fontanelle, death, resurrection, trast, at Cimitero appear dead the and living the between borders the and extremely blurred, almost non-existent; the living adopt a connec of the dead and establish with them the remains in this a grace, a favour, of obtaining intent with the tion world, not in the afterlife. vour - to the dead (Koudounaris, 2011). As the following vour - to the dead (Koudounaris, 2011). photograph (fig. 2) illustrates, the faithful would build to the skulls to gain offerings make structures or small the anonymous dead. the benevolence of vault is the present to would like ossuary I second The of Santa Maria Immacolata in Rome (fig. 3). This exam- of ossuary where the declination ple perfectly illustrates effect. symbolic and decorative for used been have bones The bones of 4,000 monks gathered between 1528 and 1870 have been arranged in patterns and figures to deco- rate the crypt. reads, ‘we were what you are, we plaque at the entrance A typical a be’, you will what are place of the value metaphorical of the evident visitor the the unlike Therefore, of mortality. and the imminence has the crypt of Santa Maria Fontanelle, delle Cimitero a clear and official symbolic purpose, which mirrors the the body Catholic conceptions of death and resurrection; is but a fleeting shrine, a short-lived container which is Some of the doomed to fade and die, freeing the soul. sickle a holding skeleton a - bones with composed figures references to and a scale, skull and crossbones - are clear once soul the for waiting justice divine the of notion the freed from the caducity of its mortal shell. Both the above illustrated examples define twodiffer -

uring my studies on the connections between the the between connections on the my studies uring I the Renaissance, and culture during Black Death D As is evident in the first photograph (fig. 1), some ossuar some 1), (fig. photograph first the in evident is As As briefly stated in the introductory paragraph, an ossu- bod- of human remains skeletal the where ary is a place ies are gathered after exhumation. Their function varied some ossuaries were that meaning to place, from place dec- practical, a than rather symbolic, by a characterized a from result not did which ossuaries most In lination. throughout the years, of cadavers simple accumulation have acquired a fun- the aesthetic and symbolic elements damental role. have repeatedly come across a rather obscure aspect of of obscure aspect a rather across come repeatedly have my attracted particularly Europe which has Renaissance ‘ossuary’, of concept the about speaking am I attention. human hundreds of set of rooms containing a room or forms - gradu- in the most peculiar bones - often arranged with sym- charged of cult activities, ally becoming places bolic meaning. I find this topic most interesting froman because the Black Death perspective, anthropological and the culture on Renaissance had an enormous impact when In fact, in a time countries. worldview of European epi- recurring the solutions to offer not could medicine to the disease could only be cultural. the response demics, from generated that culture is something I am not arguing lack of scientific explanations, but rather that the way in which the disease was approached was reflective of con- which belong to and belief ceptions of self, embodiment I wish In this article, inquiry. the area of anthropological to illustrate the ways in which a specific aspect ofnaissance culture, Re- namely ossuaries, reflects conceptions examples, of death and resurrection through two relevant (Naples) and delle Fontanelle the ossuary of the Cimitero of Santa Maria (Rome). I would like to note Vault the a as only not produced been has article brief this that here origi- consulting after also but ossuaries, to of visits result is made to the nal Renaissance sources in which reference bodies. of dead amounts increasing with the deal to need been two of Paul Koudouna- most useful tools have The books, in which he has gathered what are probably ris’ of and history of pictures collection the most complete These two works mentioned ossuaries around the world. for further reading. be of interest may bibliography in the ies are more than mere storage space for bones. In fact, as bones were gathered in such places after exhumation, were arranged remains it is often the case that skeletal to form the most singular, and even complex, structures the of prestige the increasing itself, vault the decorate to place of worship to which they belonged (Koudounaris, 2013). Therefore, since the term ossuary and accumulated, simply bones are where storage a both can indicate a place where the stored bones are arranged in decorative patterns of varying complexity, we will hereby discuss of the ossuaries of the second symbolic the implications defi- stated the Given illustrate. examples my which kind how these to illustrate I will proceed nition of ossuary, places related to culturally-specific conceptions of death and resurrection. ISSN: 2050-778X http://journals.ed.ac.uk/unfamiliar/ 38

Essays II The Unfamiliar Fig. 2(right):CemeteryoftheFontanelle,Naples Fig. 1(left):SedlecOssuary, CzechRepublic.(PhotographcourtesyofCatarineGeer). Fig. 3:SantaMariaImmacolata, Rome (PhotographcourteseyofPaulKoudounaris). (PhotographcourteseyofPaulKoudounaris). http://journals.ed.ac.uk/unfamiliar/ ISSN: 2050-778X L. Tradii 39 The Unfamiliar The Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures Treasures Cult Bodies: Heavenly The Empire of Death: A Cultural History Cultural A of Death: The Empire REFERENCES (2013) P. Koudounaris, Catacombs. the from Saints and Spectacular London: Thames & Hudson. ––––. (2011) of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses. London: Thames & Hudson. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to thank Paul Koudounaris and Catarine I would like photographs kind permission to use their Geer for their in this article. - - - f u

ent ways. The Fontanelle ossuary is the result of a re- ossuary Fontanelle The ent ways. from a mere storage space, it of meaning; negotiation of the spirituality of worship, mirroring a place became of teachings official the from Distant people. common the that idea - the of the cult the centre Church, the Catholic advantage for the praying to the dead may result in some of the inter notion in the traditional living - is embedded re- in than rather dead, the and living the between action In contrast, the ossuary of Santa Maria, ligious doctrine. being the resting place of bones of friars, clearly reflects resurrection-re and more theological the less comforting be- interaction The Church. Catholic of the beliefs lated very core of the place and the dead, the tween the living of beware of resurrection; to an omen is limited itself, is death of your soul after fate the your deeds because your life. determined by your very actions during In conclusion, we have observed how ossuaries reflect death and resurrection in two differ conceptions of life, By contrast, in the case of the crypt of Santa Maria, the Maria, of Santa crypt of the case the in By contrast, the body, is clearly marked; boundary above-mentioned the dead and the only link between is the its caducity, ‘we were the visitor reminding itself, The plaque living. moral a is both be’ will what you we are you are, what it hints to the as of resurrection, an emblem warning, and Such spirit. the of eternity body and to the of the nullity of a more intellectual is certainly a notion of resurrection the one which evolved around the origin than or doctrinal the beliefs about less revealing Fontanelle, delle Cimitero and more about the understanding of the common people, and its imposition. of Catholic doctrine ISSN: 2050-778X http://journals.ed.ac.uk/unfamiliar/