echiromani:The crypt of the Church of Santa Maria delle Anime in Naples. In past centuries there d
echiromani: The crypt of the Church of Santa Maria delle Anime in Naples. In past centuries there developed here a cult of the dead. When remains were disinterred from the common grave in the floor (marked by the lights), the skulls were stacked in side chapels; devotees paid visits to them, cleaned them, and, in a way, “adopted” them, even giving the skulls back their “living” names (revealed to their caretakers in dreams). The practice was abolished in the 20th century, only to reemerge during the Second World War. We call those souls “anime pezzentelle” -- source link