Aragonese Castle is a castle built on a rocky islet next to Ischia, a small Italian island at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples. It is said that fortresses were already built in the Classical period, but many of the current structures date back to the Middle Ages. Aragonese Castle has a lot of history behind it, not to mention its spookiness, and perhaps one of the most unique things about it is the “Chair of Death,” which belonged to the nuns of the convent founded on the island. These were stone chairs on which the bodies of deceased nuns were placed to decompose.
ancient seat
The site where Aragonese Castle now stands is reported to have been in use as early as the 5th century BC. This was a time when Greek settlers were widespread on the southern Italian coast. The first fortress was built on the island in 474 BC by the Syracuse tyrant Gerone I (also spelled Hieron). Over the next centuries, the island was occupied by various peoples, including the Romans, Arabs, Normans, and Angevins. Each of them left their mark on the island’s architecture, but none more so than Alfonso of Aragon, king of Naples (as well as Aragon and Sicily).
Aragonese castle. Photo credit: Ermi_Jack
In the 15th century, the Kingdom of Naples was ruled by the Spanish dynasty of Trastamara. This line of Neapolitan kings began with Alfonso of Aragon, who was adopted by Queen Joanna II of Naples. However, upon Joanna’s death in 1435, the throne passed to René of Anjou. Not content with being disinherited, Alfonso launched an expedition against René and succeeded in conquering the kingdom.
By this time, Angevin Castle had been abandoned due to the eruption of Ischia’s volcano Monte Epomeo in 1301, and the island’s inhabitants left their ruined homes and headed for Ischia. It was Alfonso who decided to rebuild the castle of Anjou and strengthen the fortress so that the inhabitants of the island would be protected from pirates and enemies of the kingdom. Alfonso also built the 220 m (720 ft) long stone bridge connecting this island with Ischia.
Origin of the “chair of death”
The Chair of Death is located in the Clarice Cemetery near Aragonese Castle (Ischia Island). (Utente: Orric/CC BY-SA 3.0)
It wasn’t until the 16th century that castles began to have death chairs. From 1575 to 1810, Aragonese Castle was home to a community of nuns belonging to the Sisters of St. Clare (also known as the Poor Clares). The nuns had a convent (called the Convento delle Claris) within the castle and practiced rather unusual burial customs.
When the nuns died, their bodies were taken to their cemetery, the Cimitero delle Monache Clarisse, and placed in the death chair. Bodies were left on these stone chairs to decompose.
This practice was not unique to this location, as other monks and nuns performed the same ritual in areas known as the Putrids. In the seat of each “death chair” there was a hole, under which a special container was placed. These were intended to collect the liquid produced during the decomposition process. Once the body has fully decomposed, the remaining bones are collected and placed in the ossuary.
visit the dead
The nuns who were still alive visited their deceased sisters every day. Apart from praying for the dead, these visits were also aimed at helping the nuns meditate on their own mortality. While this may have been a good form of mental training, it almost certainly would have had a negative impact on their physical health. Because they spent so much time in such unhealthy conditions, the nuns often suffered from serious illnesses.
A stone chair in the septicium in the Clarice cemetery near Castello Aragon (Ischia). (Utente: Orric/CC BY-SA 3.0)
In 1809, the French-occupied Aragonese castle was bombarded by British troops. The damaged buildings were abandoned and the abbey was probably one of them, as the impoverished Clares family left the castle the following year. Although the monastery no longer has a community of nuns, the “Chair of Death” is a frightening reminder of its presence at Aragonese Castle, and may still be seen by tourists visiting the castle today. I don’t know.
Image above: The dead nuns were left sitting to rot. Source: Yellow.Cat from Rome, Italy / CC BY 2.0
Written by Wu Minlen
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