Cripta dei cappuccini, Rome

Creepy, bizarre and completely captivating, the crypt of the Capuchin Friars is worth the venture off the well beaten tourist path in Rome. The crypt, or cemetery of sorts, lies under the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. Since 1764 the bones of over 4000 deceased Capuchin Franciscans were arranged in elaborate, decorative floor to ceiling designs spread throughout five rooms. Each room highlights certain bones, and the designs even extend onto the light fixtures. Skulls flanked by shoulder blades create angelic figures looming above on the ceiling and the final room contains the skeleton of a child grim reaper and the inscription "what you are, we once were too and what we are now, you will be". Morbid, but like nothing you have ever seen before or could even imagine.

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