Buses and billboards around town are advertising the current exhibition of the controversial Body Worlds phenomenon: preserved human cadavers and organs “plastinated” for display in a mix of anatomical education and art, and which is claimed to be the world’s most popular touring attraction. But a visceral experience of awe in the face of death is of course nothing new around here. The city boasts a somewhat comparable macabre display that dwarfs Body Worlds in both age and scope, though of course the Church argues it says more about the resurrection of the body than it does about the sensationalist allure of necromania. Santa Maria della Concezione on Via Veneto contains a famed Capuchin crypt which has captivated visitors for centuries. The bones of over 4,000 fri
21 May 2015, The Tablet
Letter from Rome
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