Hotel Olimpico
Litoranea di Pontecagnano Salerno (Italy)

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Naples: Art, History, Culture, Cuisine...

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Cappella San Severo

The chapel's true name, Santa Maria della Pietà or Pietatella, comes from the apparently miraculous "Pietà" statue which can be seen above the altar. Built in 1590 by Giovan Francesco di Sangro, the building was transformed into a family burial chapel, by his son Alessandro in 1608. Its present decoration was carried out at the request of prince Raimondo di Sangro in the eighteenth century. A man of many interests and talents, he turned the chapel into a temple of masonic iconography. Monuments of note are La Pudicizia by Di Antonio Corradini, Il Disinganno by Francesco Queirolo, the altar relief (Deposizione) by Francesco Celebrano and, in the centre of the nave, The Cristo Velato (Veiled Christ, 1753) by Giuseppe Sanmartino. In the crypt are two "skeletons", actually anatomical models, but which have helped contribute to the mysterious image of the prince. (Francesca Del Vecchio)