Professor Girolamo Segato of Florence, Italy, invented the process of mineralizing human remains, but paranoia and fear of persecution by ignorant contemporaries wiped out his research, leaving only a small number of grim relics as proof of the existence of his amazing technology.
Born in 1792, Segato showed an early interest in science in general and chemistry in particular, which inspired and determined his entire future life. His specialization in the petrification process began after he visited Egypt at the age of 26 and was fascinated by the mummies of this ancient country.
Upon his return to Europe, Segato set about developing new methods of mummification. After testing the developed method on animal corpses, the scientist-inventor soon created his own unique method of preserving human tissues by the mysterious process of mineralization at that time, which turns the remains into a kind of marble.
The reaction to his work has been mixed. While some marveled at the special transformation of corpses by Segato's method, others considered his work to be related to unnatural Egyptian mysticism. After someone broke into his laboratory and, as it turned out, rummaged through his papers, Segato became afraid of stealing his work, and, in the end, destroyed all his research and notes. When Segato died in 1836, he took the secret of his trial with him to his grave. He was buried in the cemetery of Florence with the epitaph: "Here lies Girolamo Segato - one who will be incorruptible if the secret of his art did not die with him."
Today, the only remaining evidence of his work is several very grim relics. Housed in the anatomical museum of the University of Florence, Segato's work is presented in the form of such separate body parts as the severed head of a woman and a separate female breast, turned into an eternal stone. There is also the Segato Table, which is a large wooden oval inlaid with tiles that are actually fossilized pieces of bone, muscle and intestine.
Modern researchers have developed alternative methods for the mineralization of human remains, but even after several laboratory studies of Segato's samples using various methods, no one is able to explain his process.
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