Sleeping Rosalia, a princess with a tattoo and other mysterious mummies from different parts of the world. City Museum of the Dead: Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo 100-year-old mummy of Rosalia Lombardo opened her eyes

In addition to palaces and museums, there is one attraction in Palermo that is not recommended for the faint-hearted and impressionable. The twilight and special atmosphere in this place only add to the thrill of the experience. We are talking about the famous Capuchin Catacombs, a kind of City-Museum of the Dead under the Capuchin monastery in the suburbs of Palermo (Italy).

A little history

The first Capuchins appeared in Sicily in 1534 and settled near Palermo, west of the city. They were given ownership small church of the Norman era - chapel of Santa Maria della Pace.

Next to it, the monks eventually built a monastery and chapel, with most of the funding for construction coming from the townspeople as donations. In 1565, it was decided to reconstruct the church, completely changing its outline and structure. For a number of reasons, repair work lasted for several decades.

As the monastery grew and the brotherhood increased in number, the monks faced the question of a worthy place to bury their dead brothers. The first burials appeared here in 1599, namely in the monastery crypt. The bodies of monks who died a year or two earlier were also transferred here. Gradually, the free space became less and less, and the monks were forced to expand the burial room, digging out a number of tunnels and corridors.

The Church of Santa Maria della Pace acquired its current appearance in 1934, when the church premises were reconstructed. In the interiors of the church, church utensils and works of art from the 16th-18th centuries have been preserved.

Description and photo

The burial catacombs are crypt with burial of more than 8 thousand people– many corridors along which numerous mummified bodies of long-dead people stand, lie, and sit. Some mummies are buried in coffins, ranging from simple to elaborate, and some are buried in wall niches.

The location of the burials has its own peculiarity - Not everyone was buried here, each of the dead had their own separate corridor.

The two corridors, the longest and parallel to each other, are corridor of men and corridor of professionals. “People of art” - poets, artists, sculptors, architects - were buried in the latter. There is even a legend according to which Diego Velazquez himself, the famous Spanish painter, is buried in this corridor.

The men's corridor is also impressive in size. They were buried here first influential nobles and clergy, and then noble and wealthy townspeople (especially those who donated considerable sums to the parish). Until 1739, permission for burials in the crypt was issued only by archbishops or leaders of the Capuchin Order. Being buried in an underground crypt was considered very prestigious among the townspeople.

Perpendicular to these corridors are corridor of women, corridor of monks, corridor of virgins, corridor of children and babies. The women's corridor was the only one to be bombed in 1943. Many mummies were completely destroyed, and those that remained were placed in niches and on shelves. Moreover, the almost destroyed faces and bright, perfectly preserved clothes from different eras contrast sharply...

There is a separate corridor of priests, where tourists are not always allowed. There are also closed rooms where high church officials are buried.

The peculiarity of the atmosphere in the catacombs is such that it prevents the decomposition of bodies. All the mummies, thanks to the special temperature of the crypt, were preserved quite well: some have been completely preserved; you can even examine in detail the outfit of the era to which the mummy belonged - from the dress of an ordinary city dweller to the luxurious outfit of a noble nobleman.

Moreover there were some small incidents regarding clothes. Famous townspeople, who bequeathed to bury themselves in the crypt, gave special instructions to the Capuchin monks about how many times a year they needed to change their outfits...

In this video you can see the mummies of the Museum of the Dead - the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo (beware, this is not for the faint of heart!):

Read about other, less scary ones in a separate article. And you will find the entire list of famous places on the island of Sicily.

Secrets of little Rosalia Lombardo

The crypt has one more secret, one secret for which tourists visit this place.

In the chapel of Saint Rosalia there is a small coffin, and in it rests the body of a two-year-old resident of Palermo, Rosalia Lombardo, buried here in 1920. She died of pneumonia, and suddenly, and the inconsolable father could not understand that his beloved daughter had died.

The baby's father turned to the then-famous embalmer Alfred Salafia with a request to keep the baby's body incorrupt. After persuasion, Alfred agreed and carried out the will of Signor Lombardo.

Alfredo Salafia never revealed the secret of his magical composition to anyone, so it remains a mystery how the girl’s body has not undergone any changes over many decades– not only soft tissues, but also eyeballs, hair and eyelashes remained unharmed.

Tourists who come to the chapel think that the baby simply fell asleep, and the residents of Palermo themselves call Rosalia Lombardo “our Sleeping Beauty”...

It has been suggested that the baby is in a lethargic sleep, or that she is even a doll. But the results of an X-ray study conducted by a group of scientists in 2009 confirmed that this is a real deceased child, whose body has not undergone any changes.

However, even after the study, scientists were presented with another problem: impartial technology recorded two weak electromagnetic impulses from the child’s brain, as if Rosalia was in a state of sleep.

Chapel workers claim that sometimes a faint aroma of lavender emanates from the girl’s body. Scientists are still unable to explain this phenomenon, but deeply religious people consider Rosalia a “messenger of God”.

For more information about the Sleeping Beauty mummy, Rosalind Lombardo, watch the video:

Find out more about - another vibrant place in Sicily. And about the city of Cefalu on the same island and its interesting places.

Opening hours, ticket prices

The catacombs are available for inspection from 9 to 17 o'clock(during high season, opening hours are extended to 19 hours). Lunch break – from 13:00 to 15:00.

Sleeping Rosalia, a princess with a tattoo and other mysterious mummies from different parts of the world

When it comes to mummies, most people immediately think of Egypt. However, people have found ways to preserve the bodies of their dead on every continent for thousands of years. And if you add to this the number of people who were "accidentally" mummified naturally after death, then suddenly you find that mummies can be found almost everywhere, not just in the pyramids. Let us give examples of such mummies, which are almost never talked about.

1. Spiritual Cave Mummy

The so-called "Spirit Cave Mummy" was discovered in Spirit Cave near Fallon, Nevada. In 1940, Sydney and Georgia Wheeler were exploring and excavating dry caves in the area when an unfortunate incident led to a fortunate discovery. Sydney injured his ankle while escaping a rattlesnake, and the couple took refuge in a nearby cave. Inside they found not only 67 artifacts, but also two bodies wrapped in reed mats.

One body was well preserved in the cave. It belonged to a man about 45-55 years old who died approximately 1500 years ago. Only in 1994, with the help of modern technology, were they able to accurately determine the age of the mummy. And it turned out to be not one and a half thousand, but as much as 9,415 years. Incredibly, the mummy's genome sequence proved that the man was closely related to modern Native Americans.

2. The Man from Tollund

The next naturally occurring mummy, known as the Tollund Man, was discovered in Denmark in the 1950s. The deceased was believed to be about 40 years old. His corpse was dug up in a peat bog, where the acidic and deoxygenated environment kept his body and internal organs in good condition. Initially it was believed that it was the corpse of someone from the locals who had become a victim of criminals. However, it was later discovered that the "man from Tollund" died more than 2,000 years ago.

The Man from Tollund

Most researchers believe that the cause of death determined at an autopsy in the 1950s was correct: Tollund was hanged. Rope marks were found on his neck, and in 2002 a forensic examination found that his tongue was protruding and swollen, a common finding in deaths by hanging or strangulation. Although the body decomposed after it was removed from the swamp, the head was carefully preserved. It can still be seen attached to a replica of the body in the Silkeborg Museum.

3. Xin Zhui

The mummified remains of Xin Zhui (aka Lady Dai) belonged to a noblewoman of the Han Dynasty in ancient China. She died in 163 BC. at the age of approximately 50 years. Her grave was discovered in 1971 while the Chinese military was digging a tunnel near Changsha. She was discovered in an elaborate burial chamber with over 1,000 precious objects inside it.

Xin Zhui's discovery is extremely important because she is one of the most beautifully preserved mummies ever discovered in China. In fact, her skin is still elastic and her muscles are in such good condition that her joints are still able to bend. The main organs and circulatory system are also in excellent condition. Scientists were even able to extract a small amount of blood from the mummy's vein and identify her blood type: Type A. Incredibly, even her eyelashes and nose hairs remained intact, and Xin Zhui still has distinct fingerprints. For this reason, Xin Zhui's corpse is still being examined at the Hunan Museum, where they are trying to find the perfect way to preserve human bodies.

4. La Doncella

In 1999, the perfectly preserved body of a teenage girl was found on the top of Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina. Known as La Doncella ("The Virgin"), the girl was discovered next to the bodies of two other young children, a girl and a boy. Their bodies are among the best preserved mummies ever found. This is because they were frozen in ice on the top of the mountain. It is believed that the "Virgin" died 500 years ago and was sacrificed by the Incas.

Sometimes children were sacrificed in various rituals, leaving them on mountain peaks where they froze to death. As terrible as this sounds, it was considered an honor that could only be bestowed on children from the most noble families. The shape of La Donacella's head suggests that she was truly noble, as the shape of her skull was modified by traditional head wraps. A huge amount of alcohol and coca leaves were also found in her body.

5. Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died in January 1924, and his body remains in the pyramidal mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow. For several years now, there have been debates about what to do with the mummy of the leader of the proletariat - bury it or continue to exhibit it.

Vladimir Lenin in the Mausoleum.

Now closely monitored by scientists, the corpse is kept at the ideal temperature and humidity in an airtight glass container to prevent decomposition. The exact method used to preserve Lenin's body is considered a state secret. However, foreign scientists have discovered that the process involves removing all the organs of the body, injecting embalming fluid into the veins, and soaking the body in the embalming fluid for about six months.

6. Rosalia Lombardo

This may be one of the saddest stories on this list. Rosalia Lombardo, who was only 2 years old, died in Palermo in 1920, a victim of pneumonia. Her father, Mario Lombardo, was so shocked by what happened that he turned to the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia with a request to preserve the tiny corpse. The body is so perfectly preserved that Rosalia is often called the “Sleeping Beauty.”

Baby Rosalia Lombardo.

Her body is kept in a glass coffin in the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo. Rosalia's mummy gained a creepy reputation as observers claimed that her eyes opened and closed at various points during the day. It is even said that her irises still have bright blue pigmentation. However, this terrifying claim was debunked when it was discovered that the effect was caused by the alternating light passing through the windows of the catacombs, as her eyes were actually in a constant half-closed state.

7. Tattooed Princess of Ukok

“Princess Ukok,” who lived in the 5th century AD, proves that tattoos remain with a person not only for life, but also after it. Her remains were found buried in a layer of ice in Siberia. Although she may not be an actual princess, "Ukoka" was almost certainly a person of high status, as she was buried next to six horses. Food items and jewelry were also found near her corpse, and some witnesses say there was even a container of cannabis.

Tattooed princess of Ukok.

Although her internal organs had long since disintegrated, her bones and some skin remained. Incredibly, the intricate tattoos on both of the woman’s arms are perfectly preserved. They show intricate images of animals and mythical creatures. It is believed that these tattoos were an important part of people's personalities, demonstrating family ties. They could also be useful after death, helping people find each other in the afterlife.

8. John Torrington

Poor John Torrington is another example of how the conditions in which a person is buried can turn him into a perfect mummy completely by accident. He was an ordinary fireman on Franklin's expedition to the Arctic Circle. John died of lead poisoning at the age of just 22 and was buried along with three companions in the icy conditions of the tundra. In the 1980s, scientists who decided to exhume the body to determine the cause of death were shocked.

John Torrington.

When they opened the coffin, they saw blocks of ice. Having carefully melted the ice, the scientists saw the perfectly preserved faces of John Torrington and his ill-fated companions, who were looking right at them. The only deterioration in the condition of the corpse was a slight tightening of the lips and eyelids. Although John's face was partially blue, it was not due to freezing. His skin was colored with pigment from the blanket in which he was buried.

9. Saint Bernadette

Another relatively modern mummy, Saint Bernadette grew up in France during Victorian times. As a teenager, Bernadette Soubirous claimed to have multiple visions of the Virgin Mary. At the place where these visions took place (in the grotto) a shrine was built, and so began a series of miraculous healings attributed to the spring in this grotto. Although many of these miracles have since been debunked, a number of people to this day claim to have been cured by the water at Lourdes.

Saint Bernadette

Bernadette herself died in 1879 from tuberculosis and was posthumously canonized. Her body was exhumed at least three times and was declared "incorrupt" by the church. In other words, it mummified quite well, although some areas of decomposition were observed. This was probably due to the mishandling of her body during the exhumations. For this reason, it was decided to cover the face and hands with a layer of wax to hide the decomposition. The mummy can be seen in the chapel of St. Gildar in Nevers.

10. Mummy of an “alien” from Atacama

Perhaps the most bizarre of all the mummies on this list, the tiny Atacama "alien" mummy has one of the most tragic stories. The remains, which were found in the Chilean Atacama Desert, measure just 15 centimeters in length.

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Rosalia Lombardo was born on December 13, 1918, in the Italian city of Palermo, Sicily region (Palermo, Sicily, Italy). The baby caught pneumonia, and her life was cut short on December 6, 1920, shortly before turning two years old.

Grief-stricken father Lombardo was painfully worried about the death of his daughter. He contacted a Sicilian chemist and embalmer named Alfredo Salafia and asked him to protect Rosalia from decomposition.

Alfredo responded to the request of his grieving father and made an embalming solution using his own formula. Among other chemical compounds, the mixture included formalin - for disinfection, zinc salts and salicylic acid - to give the body strength, glycerin - to prevent the mummy from complete dehydration and alcohol - to quickly dry the body. The solution was released under pressure through the arteries and distributed throughout the blood vessels.

Paleontologist Messina Dario Piombino Mascali said at the end of the 20th century that he was able to figure out the secret of Alfredo's recipes after studying the discovered diary of a Sicilian embalming expert. Subsequently, the technique worked successfully in practice.

Rosalia became Salafiya's most famous work. Referred to by some reporters as “the most beautiful mummy in the world,” the dead girl’s first years were no different from the living one. It seemed that Lombardo was simply sleeping soundly. In the mummified body, not only the soft tissues of the face remained incorruptible. A Sicilian chemist processed the baby's eyeballs, hair, eyelashes, brain and insides.

Over the next hundred years, The Sleeping Beauty (Italian: Bella addormentata) has remained virtually unchanged. And yet, in the mid-2000s, the first signs of decomposition began to appear. The mummy is currently kept in the Chapel of Santa Rosalia in a glass coffin filled with nitrogen and insulated with lead foil. For complete sealing, the glass container is sealed with wax. The chapel itself is located in the farthest part of the Capuchin Catacombs.

Located beneath the Monastery in Palermo, the Capuchin Catacombs, where some 8,000 people are buried, are visited annually by thousands of tourists from all over the world. Rosalia, along with US Vice-Consul Giovanni Paterniti, who is buried here, remain the main attractions of the catacombs to this day. The baby was the last of those buried, and the official closure of the Capuchin Catacombs took place back in 1881.

The true facts from Rosalia’s short life could not help but be “diluted with rumors,” which have accumulated in abundance over the decades. In fact, there is not a single photograph of the living Sicilian girl, not a single official document revealing the identities of her parents.

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Rumor has it that Rosalia was the daughter of Mario Lombardo, an Italian general. It is known that the girl was born fragile and weak. In the 24 months of her life, she experienced enough pain and battled enough illness to last an adult's lifetime.

At the end of the 20th century, people appeared who claimed that the baby’s mummy had long crumbled, so visitors to the catacombs were lured simply by a wax copy of Lombardo. To refute the rumors, X-ray equipment was brought to the chapel of St. Rosalia. Research has shown that not only the cellular structure was preserved, but also the internal organs of the mummy. The illuminated coffin with Rosalia's body also helped establish that her brain remained intact, although it had decreased by 50% in volume due to mummification.

In 2009, a documentary was released about “the most beautiful mummy in the world.” Viewers were shown the girl's body inside and out, including her arms lying at her sides. Previously, the upper limbs were hidden under the outer cover.

A few years ago, the media reported that Rosalia had “opened her eyes.” Her left eye seemed to open almost 5 mm, while her right eye opened by 2 mm. As they write, the baby’s blue eyes were revealed under her eyelids. Some were so amazed by the terrible phenomena that they began to claim that her spirit had returned to the body of the deceased.

The mummy scares tourists visiting the catacombs, who think that the girl’s eyes are actually opening slightly. But catacomb caretaker Dario Piombino-Mascali says it's all about an optical illusion.

According to Dario, Rosalia's eyelids were never closed tightly. At different times of the day, the light falls on the mummy's face at certain angles, which creates the illusion of the eyes opening and closing.

Others call the real reason for Rosalia’s “open eyes” to be the temperature fluctuations in the catacombs.

The Capuchin catacombs are divided into a corridor of monks, men, women, professionals, priests, a new corridor, a cubicle of children and virgins. Video and photography in the catacombs is prohibited.

It is not allowed to take pictures in the dungeon where the mummies are kept. Therefore, I took the pictures from the Internet.
We were vacationing on the island of Sicily and decided to visit the Museum of the Dead, the Capuchin Catacombs.
A strange sight. In fact, these are just open graves.
Noble people made it a fashion not to be buried in the ground. Since the 16th century, almost 8,000 mummies have been buried here.

In those days, they also noticed that there was some kind of preservative in the air of the catacombs of the monastery, which slowed down the rotting of corpses.
And the clothes are very well preserved. Especially the women’s outfits look unnatural.
Already decayed flesh, almost a skeleton, and in a cap with frills. Well, a very strange sight.
But like everyone else, I was simply amazed by the little girl. They call her Sleeping Beauty. Rosalia Lombardo, who died during the flu epidemic at the beginning of the 20th century. Her mother went crazy with grief. Her father also loved her madly and asked her to be embalmed by a famous Italian doctor. The secret of embalming has almost been revealed in our time.
A composition of formaldehyde (mostly. There were also substances, for example, glycerin) was injected into the arteries under pressure.
The baby seems to be sleeping.
What struck me most was her beautiful, SHINY red hair. Even the eyelashes on her eyes were preserved, and almost 90 years have passed!
Some scientists did an X-ray of the mummy, because they thought that Rosalia was in a lethargic sleep, and maybe it was a doll. But no, the girl’s incorruptible body is completely real!
There is also a legend about a local monk whose mind became clouded after he saw the supposedly open eyes of a mummy girl.
more photos of mummies

The halls are divided into burials of monks, children, women, virgins, politicians...

The clothes on the mummies are also well preserved and it is possible to see antique jabots, ties...

Amazingly preserved dress

Mothers with their children

Contemporaries treat this place like a cemetery, albeit an open one. And they visit their ancestors

Death smile

Taking photos and videos is prohibited, but several channels managed to make a documentary

Rosalia Lombardo was born on December 13, 1918 in the city of Palermo in Sicily. She died on December 6, 1920, a week before she turned 2 years old. What is so special about this little girl? Her father was shocked by the terrible tragedy and was very upset about the death of the baby. He turned to the embalmer Alfredo Salafia (1869-1933) and asked him to embalm the child's body to prevent its decomposition.

Mummy of Rosalia Lombardo

Salafiya Bala has its own effective embalming technology. He complied with the request of his grief-stricken father and used his embalming solution. It included elements such as formaldehyde, alcohol, glycerin, salicylic acid, zinc salts and some other chemical compounds. This solution under pressure filled the arteries and dispersed through the blood vessels. Thus, the girl's body was mummified and preserved to this day. It currently resides in a glass coffin in the farthest part of the Capuchin Catacombs in the Chapel of St. Rosalia.

In the first years, the child's mummy had a fresh, natural appearance. The girl seemed to be sleeping. That's why she was called "Sleeping Beauty". Almost 100 years have passed, but Rosalia has changed little. Thousands of tourists strive to see it every year. They travel from all over the world just to look at this small body for just a few seconds.

Employees constantly monitor the condition of the mummy.

It should be said that the real truth about Rosalia Lombardo was lost in a series of decades. It is said that she was the daughter of an Italian general named Mario Lombardo. But there are no official documents telling about her parents. There are no photographs of Rosalia alive. It is only known that she was born a very weak and fragile child. In her short life, she experienced enough pain and illness to last two adult lives.

At the end of the 20th century, there was talk that the girl’s mummy had long since turned to dust and was replaced by a wax copy. This theory was voiced in a documentary at the very beginning of the 21st century. To refute the rumors, X-ray equipment was delivered to the catacombs and the coffin with Rosalia's body was illuminated. As a result of this, not only the skeletal structure was discovered, but also organs that turned out to be intact. The brain was clearly visible, only its volume was reduced by 50% due to mummification.

In 2009, a documentary was released in which Rosalia Lombardo was fully shown. Viewers were able to see her body both outside and inside. Filming confirmed the integrity of all organs. The arms were also shown lying at the sides. No one had ever seen them before, since they were hidden under the outer cover.

X-ray showing the mummy's ribs and arms

An interesting event happened with the girl’s eyes. Several years ago there was a report that her left eye was opening. It opened almost 5 mm. The right eye also opened slightly, but only 2 mm. Under the eyelids were blue eyes. The reason for this terrible phenomenon was called a change in temperature in the room. But some exalted individuals stated that the spirit of the deceased child had returned to the body. It is not known who is right, but the fact remains a fact.

The perfectly preserved mummy of a girl excites the imagination of many generations of people. Her innocence and purity, forever frozen in time, attract more visitors than any other mummies found in the Capuchin Catacombs. For many artists, Rosalia Lombardo has been a source of inspiration for decades.