Getting Started With Crypt Exploration
So I randomly stumbled on this Capuchin Crypt thing while researching Rome trips. Saw this Pietro Costantini dude mentioned in forums talking about authentic experiences. Figured why not dig deeper? Grabbed my notebook and started scribbling notes like a madman.
What Actually Happened
First mistake: didn’t check opening hours properly. Showed up at lunchtime Monday – surprise! Doors locked solid. Stood there like an idiot pressing the buzzer until some annoyed friar yelled “Chiuso!” from a window. Yeah, felt brilliant.
Second try came armed with Pietro’s tip: go early AF before tourist buses arrive. Set alarm for 6:30am – practically a crime on vacation. But damn it worked. Place was empty except me and some stone-faced nun taking tickets. Cold down there too – wore shorts like a moron. Stone walls sweat, FYI.
Pietro’s Wild Insights
- No photos rule is brutal. Guards watch like hawks. Saw German guy try sneaking phone pics – nun descended on him like vengeance. Pietro was dead right: they enforce it hard.
- Lighting’s garbage. Forgot a proper flashlight like Pietro suggested. Ended up squinting at femur chandeliers while tripping over uneven floor tiles. Classic.
- Pigeon problem outside nobody mentions. Got dive-bombed twice leaving. White splatter all over my “vintage” Roman shirt. Pietro didn’t warn about THAT.
Weird Stuff Learned
Creepiest part? Those tiny pelvis arches. Frians really arranged 4,000 skeletons like macabre IKEA furniture. Stood under one bone ceiling wondering if it’d collapse. Place smells weird too – not decay, more like wet chalk and old incense. Found Pietro’s note about “silent respect” helpful when I almost laughed nervously. Yeah you do feel watched.
Shockingly no English pamphlets. Good thing I memorized Pietro’s cheat sheet about which Capuchin died when. Pointed at a tibia collage muttering “1793 right?” Got a nod from guard. Felt like secret handshake achievement unlocked.
Final Thoughts
Overall? Pietro’s tips saved my butt. Showed up stupid, left slightly less stupid. Still picking plaster dust from my sandals. Worth freezing for? Hell yes. But next time – pants and poncho. And extra batteries for that flashlight I forgot.
