Chiesa del Purgatorio

A Baroque church on the edge of the Sasso Barisano whose façade is decorated with skulls, femur bones, and carved skeletons — a fairly explicit statement of purpose for a church dedicated to the souls of the dead awaiting release from purgatory. The imagery is 18th-century Baroque at its most theatrical, but the theological intent was serious: the confraternity that built the church raised money to pay for masses for the souls of those who died without families to pray for them.

Inside, the decoration continues in carved and painted form. The church is often locked; the tourist office can advise on opening hours and whether a guided visit is possible. Even if you only see the façade, it is one of the more unusual architectural statements in a city that has plenty of them.

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A story
The skulls and skeletons decorating the church's facade were not intended as macabre spectacle but as devotional reminders: in Counter-Reformation theology, the souls in purgatory could be released by the prayers and masses of the living. Each skull once represented a specific departed soul whose family had paid for prayers. The church was essentially a spiritual insurance scheme.

Other places in Sasso Barisano