The famous skull with ears is kept in the basement. A small church located in the heart of the historic center of Naples, along the famous Via San Biagio dei Librai, also known as Spaccanapoli.
Destroyed during the 1980 earthquake and laboriously restored by the association that takes care of the museum. Falling in an area of archaeological interest, Unesco heritage.
Entering the church, you are immediately struck by the fact that on the High Altar there is not the statue of Saint Lucia, but that of the Immaculate Conception, because in 1748 the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Conception also settled here.
The interior of the Church of Santa Luciella ai Librai has a single nave with a beautiful majolica floor that has survived years of abandonment and neglect.
The main altar, located to the left of the entrance, housed the statue of the Immaculate Conception, while, in front of the entrance, there is the small Chapel dedicated to Saint Lucia.
On the side wall an opening leads into the sacristy. The Marian coats of arms, created in the eighteenth century remodelling, are visible almost everywhere.
The painting located on the underground altar was discovered in June 2020, following a restoration operation.
Today, the church is also equipped with a new lighting system which enhances its various architectural and artistic details, focusing the attention of those who look to discover otherwise less visible perspectives and details, making it a cultural and tourist reference point in the center of Naples.
– The Legend of the Skull with Ears
The skull with ears, messenger between the living and the dead. One of the most fascinating and mysterious elements of the church is the so-called “Skull with Ears“, a skull with mummified cartilage found in the hypogeum of the church.
This skull was an object of veneration by the Neapolitans, who believed it was a privileged channel for communicating with the afterlife. The faithful went here to make their prayers, hoping that the skull would listen to them and take them directly to the afterlife.
The Skull with ears was adopted by all women because it was considered special and more inclined than others to listen. Not surprisingly, it had been placed on a column, so as to be able to speak more easily directly into his ears.
The scholars came to the conclusion that the skull belonged to a man of about forty years old, who lived approximately between the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Church is also linked to the cult of the “Anime Pezzentelle” that is, the bodies that were abandoned and therefore adopted by people who took care of them in exchange for some miracle.
An ancient Neapolitan tradition and the church of Santa Luciella was one of the main places of devotion.
The Anime Pezzentelle are the souls of ordinary people, sometimes even unknown, abandoned without proper burial, who for this reason remained confined in Purgatory.
Then we took care of their skulls (“Capuzzelle” in Neapolitan) by cleaning them and adopting them, in order to alleviate their pain and receive thanks in return.
If the souls did not perform the miracle they were instead punished by turning their skulls upside down.
History and Architecture
Founded in 1327 by Bartolomeo di Capua, jurist and political advisor to Charles II of Anjou and Robert I, the church is an architectural jewel that preserves a fascinating and mysterious history.
The church has an exterior characterized by a large Gothic window and a portal in piperno, a volcanic stone typical of Naples, adorned with fourteenth-century coats of arms of the Di Capua family. Inside, the church has a rectangular nave with a high altar and a majolica floor that has stood the test of time.
Visits inside the church are exclusively guided and the proceeds are the only source of support, together with donations from private individuals.
Recovery and Valorisation
After being abandoned for over 30 years, the church was reopened on 5 April 2019 thanks to the commitment of the Respiriamo Arte Association, which worked for the recovery and valorisation of this historic place.
Church of Santa Luciella
Vico Santa Luciella 5/6
Naples
Campania – Italy
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