8000 mummies in Capuchin Catacombs, Welcome! This is a photographic trip to the Capuchins' Catacombs located in Palermo, Italy, where there are thousands of corpses lined on the walls like paintings.
The catacombs date back to the 1599 when the local priests mummified a holy monk for all to see. They wanted to pray to him after death.
In time the locals wanted their relatives remembered in this same way. Soon there were hundreds of corpses. Some of the deceased wrote wills, expressing the clothes in which to bury them in. Some asked to have their clothes changed over a period of time. Included in the catacombs are hundreds of coffins as well. Some contain the corpse that was buried in them. The side is sometimes cut to expose the deceased.
Children are sometimes posed. Two are seated together in a small rocking chair. Rosalia Lombardo was one of the last corpses to make it to the catacombs before the local authorities discontinued the practice. She was embalmed by Alfredo Salafia.
Rosalia died 6 December 1920 of pneumonia, perhaps brought on by the Spanish Flu, and is nicknamed the "Sleeping Beauty". Her father was General Lombardo. It was said that her sister and family visited her coffin often after her death.
Some of the corpses have long ago lost their flesh and are skeletons. Others have mummified flesh, hair and even eyes! All are dressed in clothes from the period in which they lived. One such example is of Colonel Enea DiGiuliano. He is still wearing his 1800's French Bourbon uniform.
Several of the corpses seem to be "screaming" from the dead. Time and gravity have distorted the corpses to look this way. It is very creepy! Some have body parts which have fallen off over the years such as hands, jaws, parts of the skull, etc.
Upon entering the catacombs, one might think that the smell would be terrible, or at least musty. Yet, there was no trace of any odor. Many of the corpses were close enough to touch, if you were so inclined.
The method for embalming Rosalia Lombardo was invented by Dr. Solafia, a doctor in Palermo, who took the secret with him when he died. It is only known that it was based on injections of chemicals and nothing else.
A second method used was that of dipping the bodies in arsenic or lime. This was done espceially during periods of epidemics.
The most common method used was that of dehydration by placing the bodies in cells, situated along the passageways. These cells were called "strainers", and look like a BBQ pit. The bodies were dried in the cells for about eight months then taken out and washed in vinegar before being exposed to the fresh air. They were dressed and put in niches, coffins, or on the walls, as instructed by the person while still alive or by relatives after death.
Monks are buried in the clothes they wore in life. They sometimes have ropes, dangling from their necks. The ropes were worn by the monks, in life, as a penance. They remain with them in death. The first monk, and the oldest corpse, is that of Brother Silvestro from Gubbio who died in 1599. The last monk interred here was Brother Riccardo of Palermo, who died in 1871.
The halls are divided into catagories: Men, Women, Virgins, Children, Priests, Monks, and Professionals. The Professionals Hall includes at least one American, writers, lawyers, priests, and others.
The Professors' section contains the bodies of professors, doctors, lawyers, painters, officers and soldiers of the Bourbon and Italian army. Among the famous names are those of the painter Velasquez, the sculptors Filippo Pennino and Lorenzo Marabitti and the surgeon Salvatore Manzella.
The catacombs are located in Palermo, Sicily. Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. - 12 noon, and 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Directions: (as copied from the booklet from the Catacombs)
The visitor who, from the center of the town, is making for Monreale, passes through "Porta Nuova" and at the crossroads between Via Pindemonte and Corso Calatafimi will see a sign indicating "The Capuchin Catacombs." Following Via Pindemonte, the visitor will find himself in Piazza Cappuccini, where the entrance to the Catacombes is.
The booklet indicates that you may find additional information on the catacombs in a book by P. Flaviano Domenico Farella titled
"Historic News on the Church and Catacombes of the Capuchin Monks of Palermo".
Additionally, this unusual place was written about by Ippolito Pindemonte, who visited them on 2 November 1777, and was inspired to write his poem "The Sepulchres".
For this reason, the Mayor of Palermo dedicated to him, the street which goes from Corso Calatafimi to the convent and the Catacombes.
We recently had a question on why the catacombs were closed in the early 1900's. Dr. Marianne M. Gilchrist, Glasgow, Scotland, wrote the following on this topic:
"Besides increasing awareness of hygiene issues, there is a social/historical context, re: changes attitudes towards mortality. I believe the impact of the First World War and the subsequent influenza outbreak, with the deaths of many thousands of people in a short space of time, was a factor. It seems to coincide with the period in which prolonged wearing of mourning and the custom of mourning jewellery, which often incorporating the deceased's hair, also fell from favour here in the UK.
The increasing speed of modern, mechanised life, combined with the post-war attitude that life was to be seized for the moment, militated against the slow rituals of death. Too many people had suffered multiple bereavements in the 1914-19 period to make adherence to traditional modes of mourning practical, and for a traumatised continent, the youth culture and modernity of the 1920s was something of an antidote. Read Philippe Aries & c."
Michelle Beissel recently sent in some information on a French film called, Bejart, vous avez dit Bejart. This DVD was released on May 25, 2005 and can be purchased on the internet, in English or French.
Here is an excerpt in French from a net review in French and English:
"Enfin, Maurice Bjart nous parle de ses cr�ations, Palerme, dans les catacombes aux 8000 momies. Cest loccasion pour lui dvoquer son rapport avec la mort, qui la suivi tout au long de sa vie et de prsenter sa vision des contes dOffenbach."
Translated: "Finally, Maurice Bejart speaks of his ballets, in Palerme, within the catacombes containing 8000 mummies. It is the occasion for him to reveal his personal involvement with death which has followed him all his life and how he presents his vision of death in the tales of Offenbach."
Michelle Beissel also adds: "It seems that it is not a specific ballet that was inspired by the catacombs, but it is Bejart's 'obsession' with death which has inspired many of his numerous ballets, and which most likely drawn him to visiting the Capuchins Catacombs. That is my conclusion after doing some research."
Dario Piombino-Mascali, a Palaeopathologist with the University of Pisa, provided several photos seen on this website. He is attempting to catalogue the mummies of Sicily. A paper of his findings came out in June 2006.
Fun email we received:
We received the following email from Jim Brouillard, Berea, Kentucky, who visited the catacombs many years ago. Jim was a former Navy ABH2 assigned to Crash Crew, USNAF, Sigonella Sicily. Jim writes:
"Thirty one years ago I (and a fellow sailor) were locked in these catacombs for over an hour by mistake. It was typical Italian siesta time. We shouted and screamed for the locked gate to be opened. No one heard, so we proceeded to take an extended tour. I ended up spending my entire 3 year tour in Sicily, and marrying a Sicilian to boot. I returned to Sicily once I left the service, and as a government employee and stayed 6 more years. I tried to explain my experience over the years, but with no camera it was difficult to describe. Your site has enabled me to share the feelings. I can still sense the musty old damp odors."
"I spent time in the catacombs in the fifties. I was attached to VA-35 and we spent some time at the base while on a MED cruise. I will never forget the hours spent down there. We went in thru a church and they pulled the alter back reveling a lighted staircase. At the bottom was a glass coffin with a beautiful young lady in it. (Editor's note: Probably the Rosalia child).
Then we walked by ourselves thru all the hallways.I saw a lot of what you show but don't recall any being dressed in ties. Don't know if they added the clothes or the body's since the fifties. I do remember a couple embraced in a coffin together, which I don' t think was mentioned. Yes, it was a site to remember. We heard a clacking noise and went to check it out. Would you believe, a sailor was using his lighter to try and get some teeth out of a skull for a souvenir."
The catacombs date back to the 1599 when the local priests mummified a holy monk for all to see. They wanted to pray to him after death.
In time the locals wanted their relatives remembered in this same way. Soon there were hundreds of corpses. Some of the deceased wrote wills, expressing the clothes in which to bury them in. Some asked to have their clothes changed over a period of time. Included in the catacombs are hundreds of coffins as well. Some contain the corpse that was buried in them. The side is sometimes cut to expose the deceased.
Children are sometimes posed. Two are seated together in a small rocking chair. Rosalia Lombardo was one of the last corpses to make it to the catacombs before the local authorities discontinued the practice. She was embalmed by Alfredo Salafia.
Rosalia died 6 December 1920 of pneumonia, perhaps brought on by the Spanish Flu, and is nicknamed the "Sleeping Beauty". Her father was General Lombardo. It was said that her sister and family visited her coffin often after her death.
Some of the corpses have long ago lost their flesh and are skeletons. Others have mummified flesh, hair and even eyes! All are dressed in clothes from the period in which they lived. One such example is of Colonel Enea DiGiuliano. He is still wearing his 1800's French Bourbon uniform.
Several of the corpses seem to be "screaming" from the dead. Time and gravity have distorted the corpses to look this way. It is very creepy! Some have body parts which have fallen off over the years such as hands, jaws, parts of the skull, etc.
Upon entering the catacombs, one might think that the smell would be terrible, or at least musty. Yet, there was no trace of any odor. Many of the corpses were close enough to touch, if you were so inclined.
The method for embalming Rosalia Lombardo was invented by Dr. Solafia, a doctor in Palermo, who took the secret with him when he died. It is only known that it was based on injections of chemicals and nothing else.
A second method used was that of dipping the bodies in arsenic or lime. This was done espceially during periods of epidemics.
The most common method used was that of dehydration by placing the bodies in cells, situated along the passageways. These cells were called "strainers", and look like a BBQ pit. The bodies were dried in the cells for about eight months then taken out and washed in vinegar before being exposed to the fresh air. They were dressed and put in niches, coffins, or on the walls, as instructed by the person while still alive or by relatives after death.
Monks are buried in the clothes they wore in life. They sometimes have ropes, dangling from their necks. The ropes were worn by the monks, in life, as a penance. They remain with them in death. The first monk, and the oldest corpse, is that of Brother Silvestro from Gubbio who died in 1599. The last monk interred here was Brother Riccardo of Palermo, who died in 1871.
The halls are divided into catagories: Men, Women, Virgins, Children, Priests, Monks, and Professionals. The Professionals Hall includes at least one American, writers, lawyers, priests, and others.
The Professors' section contains the bodies of professors, doctors, lawyers, painters, officers and soldiers of the Bourbon and Italian army. Among the famous names are those of the painter Velasquez, the sculptors Filippo Pennino and Lorenzo Marabitti and the surgeon Salvatore Manzella.
The catacombs are located in Palermo, Sicily. Visiting hours are from 9 a.m. - 12 noon, and 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Directions: (as copied from the booklet from the Catacombs)
The visitor who, from the center of the town, is making for Monreale, passes through "Porta Nuova" and at the crossroads between Via Pindemonte and Corso Calatafimi will see a sign indicating "The Capuchin Catacombs." Following Via Pindemonte, the visitor will find himself in Piazza Cappuccini, where the entrance to the Catacombes is.
The booklet indicates that you may find additional information on the catacombs in a book by P. Flaviano Domenico Farella titled
"Historic News on the Church and Catacombes of the Capuchin Monks of Palermo".
Additionally, this unusual place was written about by Ippolito Pindemonte, who visited them on 2 November 1777, and was inspired to write his poem "The Sepulchres".
For this reason, the Mayor of Palermo dedicated to him, the street which goes from Corso Calatafimi to the convent and the Catacombes.
We recently had a question on why the catacombs were closed in the early 1900's. Dr. Marianne M. Gilchrist, Glasgow, Scotland, wrote the following on this topic:
"Besides increasing awareness of hygiene issues, there is a social/historical context, re: changes attitudes towards mortality. I believe the impact of the First World War and the subsequent influenza outbreak, with the deaths of many thousands of people in a short space of time, was a factor. It seems to coincide with the period in which prolonged wearing of mourning and the custom of mourning jewellery, which often incorporating the deceased's hair, also fell from favour here in the UK.
The increasing speed of modern, mechanised life, combined with the post-war attitude that life was to be seized for the moment, militated against the slow rituals of death. Too many people had suffered multiple bereavements in the 1914-19 period to make adherence to traditional modes of mourning practical, and for a traumatised continent, the youth culture and modernity of the 1920s was something of an antidote. Read Philippe Aries & c."
Michelle Beissel recently sent in some information on a French film called, Bejart, vous avez dit Bejart. This DVD was released on May 25, 2005 and can be purchased on the internet, in English or French.
Here is an excerpt in French from a net review in French and English:
"Enfin, Maurice Bjart nous parle de ses cr�ations, Palerme, dans les catacombes aux 8000 momies. Cest loccasion pour lui dvoquer son rapport avec la mort, qui la suivi tout au long de sa vie et de prsenter sa vision des contes dOffenbach."
Translated: "Finally, Maurice Bejart speaks of his ballets, in Palerme, within the catacombes containing 8000 mummies. It is the occasion for him to reveal his personal involvement with death which has followed him all his life and how he presents his vision of death in the tales of Offenbach."
Michelle Beissel also adds: "It seems that it is not a specific ballet that was inspired by the catacombs, but it is Bejart's 'obsession' with death which has inspired many of his numerous ballets, and which most likely drawn him to visiting the Capuchins Catacombs. That is my conclusion after doing some research."
Dario Piombino-Mascali, a Palaeopathologist with the University of Pisa, provided several photos seen on this website. He is attempting to catalogue the mummies of Sicily. A paper of his findings came out in June 2006.
Fun email we received:
We received the following email from Jim Brouillard, Berea, Kentucky, who visited the catacombs many years ago. Jim was a former Navy ABH2 assigned to Crash Crew, USNAF, Sigonella Sicily. Jim writes:
"Thirty one years ago I (and a fellow sailor) were locked in these catacombs for over an hour by mistake. It was typical Italian siesta time. We shouted and screamed for the locked gate to be opened. No one heard, so we proceeded to take an extended tour. I ended up spending my entire 3 year tour in Sicily, and marrying a Sicilian to boot. I returned to Sicily once I left the service, and as a government employee and stayed 6 more years. I tried to explain my experience over the years, but with no camera it was difficult to describe. Your site has enabled me to share the feelings. I can still sense the musty old damp odors."
"I spent time in the catacombs in the fifties. I was attached to VA-35 and we spent some time at the base while on a MED cruise. I will never forget the hours spent down there. We went in thru a church and they pulled the alter back reveling a lighted staircase. At the bottom was a glass coffin with a beautiful young lady in it. (Editor's note: Probably the Rosalia child).
Then we walked by ourselves thru all the hallways.I saw a lot of what you show but don't recall any being dressed in ties. Don't know if they added the clothes or the body's since the fifties. I do remember a couple embraced in a coffin together, which I don' t think was mentioned. Yes, it was a site to remember. We heard a clacking noise and went to check it out. Would you believe, a sailor was using his lighter to try and get some teeth out of a skull for a souvenir."
