On the island nation of Malta , in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea , pose the ruins of a 17th century chapel service . It was in the first place erected by a knight named Fra Giorgio Nibbia in 1619 , and might ’ve been largely forgotten to this day were it not for its macabre subterranean contentedness .
You see , Nibbia Chapel was build near a cemetery where the beat from the nearby Sacra Infermeria infirmary were place to rest . In 1852 , a crypt was construct below the chapel service ( which had been rebuilt in 1731 in the Baroque style by designer Romano Carapecchia ) and castanets from the cemetery were used to adorn the space . The deck choice clear it the nickname the " Chapel of Bones , " though it was also commonly concern to as Taz - Zuntier , a old Maltese word meaning " memorial park . "
By the early twentieth century , the Nibbia Chapel was moderately well - known as a holidaymaker attraction , and even hadpostcardsand other souvenir feature the unique interior , but aerial outpouring during World War II most leveled the Roman Catholic structure . Whatever was left was later destroy in the seventies , and today , overgrown foundation garment are all that remain . Aboveground , anyway .
It ’s trust that Nibbia ’s detailed , nineteenth century subsurface crypt is still inviolate underneath the human race of mod Malta . The exact location is unknown , but it ’s believe to be faithful to the ruins , near a of late constructed construction . Despite being classified as a Class B national monument , the ruin aresomewhat disregard . presently , theredon’t seem to be any initiativesto further bear on the domain , or to explore the diachronic site beneath it , which includes the sarcophagus of Nibbia himself .
Inside the long - seal ossuary , there ’s reportedly aLatin inscriptionon the communion table that bemoan the ephemerality of living and petitions for prayers for the dead . There among the mosaic of human remains , the outer space presumably manage to outride safeguarded and intact indefinitely .
[ h / thowtomalta.com ]
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