As of September 18, the first digital scholarly catalog of the artistic and historical heritage of the Cappella Sansevero has been available on the Museum’s official website. The project marks a crucial step in the path of enhancement and research at both national and international level.
Coordinated by Professor Gianluca Forgione, the catalog is the result of years of work and gathers 31 essay-entries written by a team of scholars specializing in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century southern Italy: Luigi Coiro, Eleonora Loiodice, Sabrina Iorio, Augusto Russo and Mariano Saggiomo. The research brought previously unknown sources to light and led to new attributions, including the attribution to Michelangelo Naccherino of the monument to Paolo di Sangro and of Amor divino — the latter previously attributed to Francesco Queirolo. In addition, thanks to materials preserved in the Diocesan Historical Archive of Naples, the team was able to reconstruct the Chapel’s seventeenth-century phase and analyze the transformation carried out by Raimondo di Sangro.
An innovative project
The Cappella Sansevero Museum is the first in Italy to adopt Quire, an open-source platform developed by the Getty together with other international institutions. Thanks to collaboration with Haltadefinizione, a tech company in the Gruppo Panini Cultura, the catalog integrates scientific content and ultra-high-resolution images, making online consultation intuitive and interactive.
Haltadefinizione handled the entire gigapixel photographic campaign for the statues, the vault and the paintings, as well as 360-degree capture of the museum spaces. The images are archived and managed in Coosmo, the digital asset manager developed by the tech company, which enables smooth, detailed navigation while ensuring transparency and continuity in documentation.
The digital catalog does not merely reproduce the logic of printed repertories; it expands their potential: texts can be updated, and users can navigate images down to the smallest detail. Contents are designed to be accessible remotely, reaching an ever wider and more diverse audience.
The project was previewed in May during a study day organized by the Museum, with speakers of international standing such as Andrea Bacchi (University of Bologna; Zeri Foundation) and Riccardo Naldi (University of Naples “L’Orientale”), who presented a previously unknown terracotta model of the Veiled Christ.
With this initiative, Cappella Sansevero confirms its commitment to scientific research, digitization and accessibility—a commitment strengthened in recent years through collaborations with universities, research centers and cutting-edge technology partners.
