Morticelli, Medieval monastery and cemetery in Benevento, Italy

Morticelli is the name given to the area of the Triggio district in Benevento where the Benedictine abbey of Saints Lupolo and Zosimo, later of San Lupo, once stood. The monastery was suppressed in 1450, its church was already in ruins by 1579, and after the 1943 American bombings the few surviving remains were demolished. Only scattered ruins of the complex survive today.

The complex was established during the Lombard period as a center of religious life serving the local community. Its dual function as monastery and burial ground shaped how this site developed and was used through the centuries.

The name Morticelli comes from the cemetery established here by Archbishop Vincenzo Maria Orsini after the 1688 earthquake, later reserved for burying deceased children. The area kept this popular name even after the cemetery moved and the site was reduced to ruins.

The site lies in the Triggio district, the quarter of the walled city expanded under Duke Arechi II in the 8th century. Only ruins remain after the 1943 American bombings, and the human remains once kept here were moved to the municipal cemetery. Approach on foot through the Triggio lanes; there is no standing church or cemetery to enter.

The name Morticelli comes from the cemetery for deceased children kept here after the urban burial ground moved out of the city in the late 18th century. The church rebuilt by Archbishop Vincenzo Maria Orsini after the 1688 earthquake was hit by American bombings in 1943, and its remains were later razed.