Palazzo Sansevero

Campania · Italy · Palace

At Palazzo Sansevero in Naples, the murdered Maria d'Avalos is said to roam the nights – while the alchemist prince Raimondo watches over his palace.

On Piazza San Domenico Maggiore stands the palace where in 1590 the composer Carlo Gesualdo caught his wife Maria d'Avalos with her lover, Duke Fabrizio Carafa, and had them both killed; the bloodied bodies were displayed at the palace entrance. The deed was said to have brought a curse on the house's inhabitants for seven generations. In the eighteenth century the enigmatic alchemist prince Raimondo di Sangro transformed the palace and the adjoining chapel into masterpieces of Neapolitan Baroque – and into the hub of the city's occult lore. To this day Maria d'Avalos is said to wander the piazza at night, while Raimondo's spirit reportedly appears near the chapel, sometimes accompanied by a scent of incense.

FAQ

Where is Palazzo Sansevero located?

Palazzo Sansevero is in Campania, Italy.