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In a region with as long and rich a history as Europe, it’s hardly surprising that the dead are extremely present. Almost every country in Europe has its own rituals, traditions, and unique customs concerning what to do with the remains of those who’ve\u00a0passed, which can sometimes result in unusual, macabre, and downright creepy places for travelers to visit.<\/p>\n
European travel expert Rick Steves might be ‘the Mr. Rogers of travel’<\/a>, but he’s no stranger to the spookier side of tourism, and loves discovering weird and wonderful attractions dedicated to remembering the dead. He is, in his own words<\/a>, “intrigued by human bones,” and is always on the hunt for eerie attractions to visit. He advises fans of dark tourism destinations around the world<\/a> to look out for churches and monasteries run by Capuchin monks, as “their mission [is] to remind us that in a relatively short period of time, we’ll be dead, too.” They do this by “hanging their dead brothers up to dry and then opening their skeleton-filled crypts to the public.” One of his favorite Capuchin sites is the crypt of Santa Maria della Concezione in Rome, an extraordinary ossuary or bone-church containing the bones of over 4,000 Capuchin friars!<\/p>\n Santa Maria della Concezione is located to the north of Rome’s historic city center, just south of the Villa Borghesi, close to the Baroque Triton Fountain. It’s right outside the Barberini metro station on the A line, and about a 20-minute walk from Roma Termini, the city’s main train station.<\/p>\n