Having learned that the peculiarity of the local soil prevents the decomposition of bodies, people began to expose the deceased in the catacombs without coffins.
In the city of Palermo in Sicily, a Capuchin monastery was opened in the 16th century, which became home to many monks. By the end of the century, the question arose about the need for their own cemetery. For this purpose, a crypt under the monastery church was adapted, and the first to be buried here was a mummified priest named Silvestro from Gubbio, later the remains of several previously deceased monks were transferred here. And in the 17th century it turned out that the peculiarity of the soil and air in this underground prevents the decomposition of bodies.
Many townspeople liked the idea of keeping the body incorruptible, and they began to turn to the administration of the monastery with a request to be buried in the catacombs. Soon the room was already cramped, and the Capuchins added several corridors to the crypt.
Despite the special natural conditions of the catacombs, the bodies were still processed. First, they were dried in special chambers (Collatio) for eight months, and then the mummified remains were washed with vinegar. During epidemics, the method changed: the dead were immersed in diluted lime or solutions containing arsenic. After this, the deceased, dressed in the best clothes, was placed in underground corridors. Noble townspeople generously donated to the needs of the monastery; in return, they counted not only on the place of rest - the will could include changing the body several times a year.
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In 1837, a ban was issued to display the bodies of the deceased, and part of the new corridor began to fill with coffins. But the townspeople found an opportunity to get around the ban: they removed one of the walls in the coffins or left "windows" allowing them to see the remains.
The catacombs were officially closed in 1881, although after that several more people were still buried there. In its final form, the unusual cemetery took the form of a rectangle with an additional Corridor of priests. The sides of the rectangle are the so-called Corridors of monks, men, women and professionals. At the intersection of the main corridors, small cubicles were created, where children and virgins were buried. In total, there are about 8,000 bodies in the underground cemetery, including 1,252 mummies standing, sitting and lying along the walls in cool corridors open to any visitor to the museum.
One of the most famous compartments is the chapel of St. Rosalia. In 1920, two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo died of pneumonia, and her grief-stricken father made it possible to bury her daughter at the monastery. Her burial was one of the last in the history of the catacombs, but it is not famous for that. The embalming was carried out using technologies that were new for that time: the family wanted the baby to be like herself for as long as possible. The work was done by the Sicilian chemist Alfredo Salafia; his secret was found only in the 21st century when analyzing the monastery archives.
Rosalia's skin did not lose its natural color for a long time, and the baby seemed just asleep (as a result, the mummy received the nickname "Sleeping Beauty" (English Bella addormentata). The first signs of decomposition appeared only in the mid-2000s. To prevent further tissue destruction, the coffin was moved to a drier place and enclosed in a glass container filled with nitrogen.
Currently, this unique cemetery (turned into a museum run by monks) is one of the most famous sights of Palermo, attracting many tourists.
Anastasia Barinova