Torre della Scimmia (Tower of the Monkey)
Rome · Italy · Tower
A monkey carried the household's baby to the top of the tower. Ever since, a lamp burns up there that must never be allowed to go out.
In the medieval tower on Via dei Portoghesi lived, according to legend, the Scapucci family, who had one child and a tame monkey. One day the animal snatched the infant from its cradle and climbed to the top of the tower, out of everyone's reach. The father dared not shout, but vowed the Virgin an eternal flame if the child came down alive; the monkey then carried the baby back and laid it in the cradle. The vow was kept with a lamp before an image of the Madonna at the tower's summit — still visible from the street, and Romans say misfortune strikes the house on any night the flame goes out. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the story down during his years in Rome, and neighbours still speak of a small dark shape on the roofline.
FAQ
Where is Torre della Scimmia (Tower of the Monkey) located?
Torre della Scimmia (Tower of the Monkey) is in Rom, Italy.
More haunted places in Rom
- Ponte Sisto Rome · Bridge
- Campo de' Fiori Rome · Urban site
- Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome · Church
- Ponte Sant'Angelo (Bridge of Angels) Rome · Bridge
- Ponte Fabricio (Bridge of the Four Heads) Rome · Bridge
- Doctor Tromba's House, Via del Governo Vecchio 57 Rome · Haunted house
- Villa Celimontana Rome · Natural site
- Pantheon Rome · Church
Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.
Image: Nicholas Hartmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons