Is Dracula’s grave in Naples?

Dracula’s tomb © Dr Maria Sannino

Recent Estonian research works made scholars from the University of Tallin claim that they traced Dracula’s tomb in the heart of Naples. The bas-relief of a Dragon between two sphinxes, which might be the symbol of Vlad Tepes III, prince of Wallachia, was found on the grave belonging to Dracula’s son-in-law, count Giacomo Alfonso Ferrillo, in the church of Santa Maria La Nova. Vlad III, known as the Impaler for his cruelty, was a member of the Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order which was supposed to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. The institution, held in 1408, had a dragon as its symbol.

Vlad III, also known as Dracula (the devil) mysteriously disappeared during a battle against the Ottomans and the Estonian researchers think that somehow he managed to reach his daughter, Maria, who married count Ferrillo, in Naples.

A masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, the marble tomb has become one of the most visited spots in Naples, thanks to the interest shown by tourists for the occult and for the mysteries linked to the “king of the vampires”.