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The Cappella Sansevero also called as the Capella Sansevero de’ Sangri or Pietatella is a chapel located at the north of the church of San Domenico Maggiore, in the historic center of Naples, Italy. The chapel is precise is named as the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, or the Pietatella. It keeps the works of art by some of the best Italian from the 18th century. The foundation date of the chapel relates to 1590 when John Francesco di Sangro, Duke of Torremaggiore, after recovering from a serious illness, had a private chapel constructed at the place where the gardens of the nearby Sansevero family residence, the Palazzo Sansevero existed. The building was converted into a family burial chapel by Alessandro di Sangro in 1613.  The building finally constructed as to be finished by Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero, who also employed Masonic symbols during its reconstruction. Till the 1888 a passageway connected the Sansevero palace with the chapel.

In the chapel there are about thirty works of art including three idiosyncratic sculptures. These statues are symbols of the love of decoration in late-Baroque, and are constructed of a marble like substance which entirely or in part was invented by Raimondo. Raimondo also tool part in the design of the works of art in the chapel. Some of the popular list of works of arts as preserved in the chapel is  Monument to Cecco de’ Sangro, Monument to Giovan Francesco Paolo de’ Sangro,Il decoro, Monument to Paolo de’ Sangro, La liberalità, Monument to Duke Giovan Francesco Paolo de’ Sangro, Lo zelo della religione, Painting of Raimondo de’ Sangro, La soavità del giogo maritale, Altar to St. Rosalia, Veiled Truth, Antonio Corradini, Unknown artist, Angel, Altar (La Deposizione), Angel, Coretto, Release from Deception (Il Disinganno), Altar to St. Odorisio, La Sincerità, Monument to Raimondo de’ Sangro, Il Dominio di sé stessi, Monument to Paolo de’ Sangro, L’Educazione, Monument to Paolo de’ Sangro, Giorgio Marmorano, Divine Love, Monument to Giovan Francesco de’ Sangro and  Veiled Christ.

The chapel also has on its exhibition two earliest examples of the form of plastination in the basement. These “anatomical models” were considered as the examples of the processes of human metallization as formed by the anatomist Giuseppe Salerno ca. 1760 with a commission by Raimondo di Sangro. The exhibition is consisted of a mature male and a pregnant woman. Their skeletons are preserved in the hardened arteries and veins that are colored red and blue, respectively. Earlier, the historians of the opinion about the corpses as being injecting the hardening substances straight into the veins of the subjects and bodies, yet recent evidences have denied all such assumption for the plastination.

Naples has played a very important role in developing the musical traditions of Italy and even has participated actively in common history of western European musical traditions. This influence of music of Naples is even experienced through the music conservatories in the 16th century by the music of Alessandro Scarlatti during the Baroque period and the period of comic operas of Pergolesi, Piccinni and Rossini and Mozart. The vitality of Neapolitan popular music is learnt from the late 19th century has made songs like ‘O Sole mio and Funiculì Funiculà immortal to our human consciousness and psyche.

In the 16th century, the Spanish royalty created a church based conservatory at different places of Naples. These all institutions were constructed at the four campuses of the churches in Naples, including, Santa Maria di Loreto, Pietà dei Turchini, Sant’Onofrio a Capuana, and I Poveri di Gesù Cristo. Initially these conservatories were meant for sheltering orphans. By reaching the 17th century conservatory were developed and were being termed as the music school. Therefore, the Neapolitan conservatories have   enjoyed the commendable reputation throughout Europe as training grounds not only for young children to be trained in church music as well as the feeder system into the world of commercial music and opera in the period of around early 17th century. This helped Naples to grow as an important center of musical training in Europe. By reaching 18th century, Naples was nicknamed as the “conservatory of Europe” and was home to the composers like as Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi, Niccolò Piccinni, Domenico Cimarosa, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, etc.

Naples too is birthplace of the popular Neapolitan comic opera and the site of the San Carlo Theater that was constructed in 1737 and is one of the finest musical theaters around the world. During the short French rule of Murat in the early 19th century, the four conservatories were merged into a single institution that was further relocated to single institution at ex-monastery, San Pietro a Maiella. The conservatory still has the inscription “Royal Academy of Music” over the entrance and yet is a very important school of music in Italy.

The folk music of Naples is anonymous and is represented by folk percussion instruments like the putipù that has a membrane spread across the resonating chamber, like a drum. It has a handle attached to the membrane compressing air rhythmically into the chamber. There music is well represented by the Nuova Compagnia di canto popolare that combines dance, music, and drama. Mandolin is another popular musical instrument used in Italy and keep the names like as  the “Roman”, the “Lombard”, the “Genovese”, and the “Neapolitan” mandolin.