Oratorio dell'Arciconfraternita della Morte e Orazione

Beside the bell tower of Massa Lubrense's former cathedral stands the Oratory of the Archconfraternity of Death and Prayer. Rebuilt in 1782–83, it preserves a maiolica floor by Ignazio Chiaiese, an 18th-century organ and a burial chamber with two painted coffins.

Why it matters

The Archconfraternity of Death and Prayer prayed for the souls of the dead and arranged burials for people without means. Its members initially met in the sacristy of the former cathedral and later in a small oratory beside the bell tower. In 1782 they rebuilt the oratory on a larger scale.

What to notice

The polychrome maiolica floor, made by Neapolitan artist Ignazio Chiaiese, is decorated with festoons, vines and cartouches of flowers and fruit. The high altar combines polychrome marbles and was made by workers from the Adamo workshop in Naples. An 18th-century altarpiece depicts the Saviour freeing souls from purgatory. Behind the sacristy, the terrasanta contains two painted wooden coffins once used to bury members of the confraternity and the poor.

Context and history

The oratory was rebuilt in 1782 and completed in 1783 with the sovereign's consent. The furnishings include wooden stalls, an 18th-century gilded-wood organ and a sacristy painting of the Magdalene with souls in purgatory. It stands in the oldest quarter of Massa centro, alongside the bell tower of the former cathedral.