I just visited a quaint litle town in the interior of Portugal called Évora.
It has been awarded the title of a World Heritage Center as it has been the settlement for many people thru the times from the Romans to the VisiGoths thru the modern European.
I visited the ruins of a roman temple possibly dedicated to the Goddess Diana. Having been to Rome, the Temple pales to the constructions I visited previously in the Roman capital and surrounding areas, but it was truely ancient and magestic none-the-less.
Among the many museums, churches, and cathedrals I visited a small Franciscan Chapel created to pay homage to Death. Its interior walls, ceiling and collumns were decorated with bones and skulls from over 5000 bodies. The Fransiscans ask us to stop and comtemplate those that have come before us, and left before us, reminding us that we do not take anything with us, not even our bones.
http://bugbog.com/european_countries/po ... _bone.html
I have visited similar locations that utilize human bones as decorative/medetative enhasements and although the chapel was compelling, it was only a small representation of what the Catacombs of Paris demonstrate. Similar aesthetic... different intention.
More to come...