Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco

Neapel · Italia · Church

A crowned skull in a bridal veil receives prayers from women who want to marry. Everyone in the quarter calls her Lucia.

The bronze skulls at the door are worn shiny by hands, and Neapolitans simply call the building the church of the death's heads. Down in the hypogeum stands a votive niche crowded with candles, silver hearts and letters. At its centre lies a skull wearing a bridal veil and a small crown: Lucia, patroness of young brides. Tradition ties her to a real event of the 1700s, when the daughter of don Domenico d'Amore, prince of Ruffano, died of illness at seventeen shortly after her wedding. Other versions make her a noblewoman who died for love of a boy of the people, or a fisherman's wife. Women who want to become wives and mothers come to her, and Lucia is said to listen in silence before she answers.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco?

Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco ligger i Neapel, Italia.