Raimondo di Sangro

Raimondo di Sangro,was born in Torremaggiore in 1710 and died in Naples in 1771. The Prince of Sansevero was an esoteric, inventor, anatomist, soldier, Freemason and a great Italian alchemist.

He lost both parents, and at the age of 10 he was entrusted to his grandparents, who sent him to study at the Jesuit school in Rome, where he remained until the age of 20. He was a prodigy as a child; in fact, he went out of school as one of the greatest geniuses of the eighteenth century.

The Jesuit school.

Raymond’s Childhood

Raymond becomes Prince In 1729 he acquired the position of VII Prince of

San Severo and married his cousin Carlotta Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona. The prince, an expert in military arts, was also Colonel of the “Capitanata” Regiment, where he distinguished himself in the battle of Velletri, fighting valiantly against the Austrians in 1744.

The Italians’ victory in 1744.

The beginning of alchemy and some popular voices

He studied first at the Academy de’ Ravvivati, then at the Academy della Crusca. He devoted himself to the study of chemistry and alchemy so much that it aroused in people the belief he was a sorcerer. He wrote many books, which were censored or published anonymously; among them, some displayed a clear Masonic influence. the Prince was the only one to publish these types of texts in Italy.

One of the many books written by the Prince

Accademy della Crusca

The Gentilizia Chapel

In 1744 Raymond began his most important work, the complete restoration of the Gentilizia chapel, now known as Sansevero chapel. The work caused a lot of debts to the family so as to force the Prince to open the gambling dens in his palace. This situation led him to a stop for a few months, during which he served in prison. The work ended at his death. The church is full of Masonic symbols.

Photo of the chapel in the nineteenth century

The career in Freemasonry The square and compass, one of the symbols of Freemasonry

In the same year, 1744, he joined in the ‘’Libera Muratoria’’ a circle of Italian Freemasonry, where he became a ‘’Mason Brother''. One of the first Masonic lodges in Italy that was created by the Prince, was called ‘’Rosa d'ordine Magno’’. In a few years,'' he advanced degree and became ‘’Grand Master’’ of all lodges.

Prince's inventions The inventions were many, for all we know 19, but could

be even more. Among these are weapons (such as a musket and cannon), a system to remove the salt and make drinking water from the sea, a light that can last long without consuming too much matter, fireworks of various colors and many others. One of the most important, however, that has come down to us in good condition is that one of the two anatomical machines. Two life-size anatomical models that consist of two human skeletons, a man and a woman, and bloodstreams of different color, blue and red. The legend says that the Prince would obtain the "metallization" of the blood circuit "injecting" a compound of his own invention, and since the only "pump" able to push the fluid from the thinner capillaries was the heart, that the two unfortunates were still alive when the experiment was performed.

a soldier with a musket, the one invented by Raimondo de Sangro could fire real shots or work with compressed air.

One of the two anatomical machines