Rome - Church of the Capuchins

(Local Name: Santa Maria della Concezione) Consisting of a single central aisle, the church of the Capuchins was commissioned by Cardinal Antonio Barberini, a Capuchin friar, and built at the beginning of the 17th century by Antonio Casoni. The Cardinal's memorial in front of the high altar bears the Latin inscription "Hic iacet pulvis, cinis et nihil!" ("here lie dust, ashes and nothing"). The altarpieces contained in the church, Guido Reni's "Archangel Michael battles with Satan" (to the right in the first chapel) and Domenichino's "Francis and the Angel" (third chapel) are particularly impressive.

The most unusual feature of the church is the marble cemetery in five chapels, where the skulls and bones of some 4,000 Capuchin friars have been arranged to form an intricate decoration.