San Bernardino alle Ossa

    The Church
    The origins of this holy place date back to 1145, when a hospital for the poor was settled, with a cemetery and charnel house alongside. A nearby church was then built in 1269.
    The Chapel
    On 1679 all the stucture was redone, and on this occasion the countless bones buried in the area were exhumed and then arranged in a Rococo architectural style chapel.
    The fresco
    In 1695 chapel vault was frescoed by Sebastiano Ricci with a Triumph of Souls and Flying Angels. In the triangular pedentives the Virgin, Saint Ambrose, Saint Sebastian and Saint Bernardino of Siena.
    After a fire destroyed the church in 1712, a larger Church was annexed to the Chapel which had not been damaged, and the whole building was dedicated to Saint Bernardino of Siena, celebrated for his sacrifice and assistance during a 15th century plague. The church now is known as San Bernardino alle Ossa (namely San Bernardino near the bones).
     

    A curiosity
    In 1738 King John V of Portugal was so impressed by the chapel that he decided to build a replica at Vora, near Lisbon.