Capuchin Catacombs
Catacombs of the Capuchins (Catacombe dei Cappuccini) is an open burial ground in Palermo that contains the remains of more than eight thousand people. The place of eternal resting place here found famous residents of the city and members of the elite. The Capuchin Catacombs are especially interesting because of the huge number of mummies – embalmed corpses are in a variety of poses and even create bizarre compositions.
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Looking through the once living “exhibits”, any visitor can feel both horror, disgust and delight at the same time. Here you can feel the experienced hand of mummification and embalming masters, because all the bodies and skeletons are preserved very well, despite the fact that they are not one hundred years old. By the clothes you can easily recognize to what era belongs to this body, what was the status of this person in life and financial situation.
Video: Capuchin Catacombs
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Methods of burial
Entrance to the Capuchin MonasteryOf particular interest to visitors to the catacombs is the body of the aforementioned child, Rosalia Lombardo. According to the records of the doctor who conducted her embalming, formalin, alcohol, glycerin, zinc salts and salicylic acid were injected into the dead girl’s artery. The substances were then pressurized and distributed throughout the girl’s vessels. The result was amazing – the child’s body retained the pristine appearance of a living person. To many tourists who have been here, it seems that the baby girl is just sleeping.
.The many corridors of the Catacombs of the Capuchins
The layout of the Catacombs is uncomplicated, the corridors and cubicles are divided along several lines – gender, social, age. There are corridors: men, women, monks, priests, professionals, new corridor. Also in the Capuchin Catacombs there are cubicles of children and virgins (on their heads you can see metal crowns as a sign of their purity).
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The oldest line is formed by the corridor of monks. The most revered Capuchins are placed in the first part of the corridor, their necks wrapped with ropes. All the dead are dressed in simple cassocks.
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The smallest line is the corridor of women. Most of the bodies rest in special niches. Until the middle of the twentieth century, the niches were protected by glass. The remains of women are dressed in fashionable (for their time) dresses of silk with ruffles of lace, on their heads hats.
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The corridor of the men is the first long line of the Catacombs rectangle. The bodies have been preserved according to the will, some dressed modestly and some in the most sumptuous garments of their time. Most of the deceased are benefactors of the monastery.
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Visitor Information
It is worth being prepared for a special atmosphere in this unusual museum. Most of the exhibits look really creepy, so faint-hearted people and children are strongly discouraged from visiting this place. If you do venture on this mystical excursion, rest assured that it will remain in your memory for a long time. Everyone can visit the Capuchin Catacombs from 8.30 to 18.00. The price of the entrance ticket is symbolic and amounts to 1.50 euros.
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