The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (also Catacombe dei Cappuccini or Catacombs of the Capuchins) are burial

catacomb Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

s in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Today they provide a somewhat

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

tourist attraction as well as an extraordinary historical record.

Historical background

Palermo's Capuchin

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

outgrew its original

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the 16th century and monks began to excavate

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

s below it. In 1599 they mummified one of their number, the recently-deceased brother Silvestro of Gubbio, and placed him in the catacombs. Bodies were dehydrated on racks of ceramic pipes in the catacombs and sometimes later washed with

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

. Some bodies were

embalmed Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...

and others were enclosed in sealed glass cabinets. Friars were preserved with their everyday clothing and sometimes with ropes they had worn in

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

. Initially the catacombs were intended only for deceased friars. However, in later centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed in the Capuchin catacombs. In their wills, local luminaries would ask to be preserved in certain clothes, or even have their clothes changed at regular intervals. Priests wore their clerical vestments, while others were clothed according to contemporary fashion. Relatives would visit to pray for the deceased and to maintain the body in presentable condition. The catacombs were maintained through donations from the relatives of the deceased. Each new body was placed in a temporary niche and later placed into a more permanent location. So long as contributions continued, the body remained in its proper place but if relatives stopped sending money, the body was put aside on a shelf until they resumed payments.

Interments

In 1871 Brother Riccardo was the last friar interred in the catacombs, but other famous people were interred after that. The catacombs were officially closed in 1880 but tourists continued to visit. The last burials are from the 1920s and 1930s. Among the final interments was

Rosalia Lombardo Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 – 6 December 1920) was a Palermitan child who died of pneumonia, resulting from the Spanish flu, one week before her second birthday. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Sala ...

, then nearly two years old, whose body remains remarkably intact, preserved with a procedure performed by Professor

Alfredo Salafia Alfredo Salafia (November 7, 1869 – January 31, 1933) was a Sicilian embalmer and taxidermist of the 1900s. In December 1920, he embalmed a little girl, Rosalia Lombardo, in Palermo, Sicily at her father's request. She currently lies in a gla ...

. His process included

formalin Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section Fo ...

to kill bacteria, alcohol to dry the body,

glycerin Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

to keep it from over drying,

salicylic acid Salicylic acid is an organic compound with the formula HOC6H4CO2H. A colorless, bitter-tasting solid, it is a precursor to and a metabolite of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). It is a plant hormone, and has been listed by the EPA Toxic Substance ...

to kill fungi, and the most important ingredients, zinc salts (

zinc sulfate Zinc sulfate is an inorganic compound. It is used as a dietary supplement to treat zinc deficiency and to prevent the condition in those at high risk. Side effects of excess supplementation may include abdominal pain, vomiting, headache, and ti ...

and

zinc chloride Zinc chloride is the name of inorganic chemical compounds with the formula ZnCl2 and its hydrates. Zinc chlorides, of which nine crystalline forms are known, are colorless or white, and are highly soluble in water. This salt is hygroscopic and ev ...

) to give the body rigidity. The formula is one part glycerin, one part formalin saturated with both zinc salts, and one part of an alcohol solution saturated with

. The final burial was that of Giovanni Licata di Baucina, the count of

Isnello Isnello ( Sicilian: ''Isneddu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region of Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. Isnello borders the following municipalities: Castelbuono, Cefalù, Colle ...

, in 1939. The catacombs contain about 8,000 corpses and 1,252 mummies (as stated by last census made by EURAC in 2011) that line the walls. The halls are divided by category: men, women, virgins, children, priests, monks, and professionals. Some bodies are better preserved than others. Some are set in poses; for example, two children are sitting together in a rocking chair. The coffins were accessible to the families of the deceased so that on certain days the family, including the deceased, could join their hands in prayer. Famous people buried in the catacombs include: * Filippo d'Austria, formerly Ayala, prince of Tunis and convert to Catholicism (1620)Rutlan, Mary. ''Palermo’s Subterranean Necropolis: The Capuchin Catacomb''. USF Digital Commons. Retrieved 2021-09-13. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=honorstheses * Giuseppe Grimau, president of the kingdom (1755) *

Vincenzo Natoli Vincenzo Natoli was a Sicilian judge. He was made a marquess in 1756 by Charles III, the king of the Two Sicilies. Life Natoli was born in 1690 at Sant'Angelo di Brolo. From 1730 to 1734, and again in 1740, he was a judge of the Gran Corte Cri ...

, judge (1770)''Catacombe dei Cappuccini'',Izi Travel. https://izi.travel/en/acd4-catacombe-dei-cappuccini/it#7f98-introduzione/it * Lorenzo Marabitti, sculptor (early 19th c.) *

Filippo Pennino Filippo Pennino, (1755-1801) was an Italian sculptor. Pennino was born, lived and worked in Palermo. Most of what is known about his life is through his works. He carved the ''Fountain with Triton and Puttini'' at Villa Trabia in Bagheria and th ...

, sculptor (1801) *

Giuseppe Velasco Giuseppe Velasquez, Velasques or Velasco (16 December 1750 – 7 February 1827) was an Italian painter, active in a Neoclassic style. Biography He was born at Palermo into Spanish family; his father was Fabiano Ungo de Velasco. At the age of ...

, painter (1827) * Salvatore Manzella, surgeon (1835) * ''Colonel'' Giulio Ascanio Enea, war committee member (1848) * Giovanni Corrao, partisan (1863) * Paolo Ragona, colonel of artillery (1863) * Bishop Agostino Franco (1877), titular Bishop of

Hermopolis Hermopolis ( grc, Ἑρμούπολις ''Hermoúpolis'' "the City of Hermes", also ''Hermopolis Magna'', ''Hermoû pólis megálẽ'', egy, ḫmnw , Egyptological pronunciation: "Khemenu"; cop, Ϣⲙⲟⲩⲛ ''Shmun''; ar, الأشموني ...

Giovanni Paterniti Giovanni Paterniti was an American Vice Consul who died in Palermo, Italy in 1911. He is interred within the Capuchin Catacombs. He was prepared by the noted embalmer Alfredo Salafia. References 1911 deaths Year of birth missing Mummie ...

, an American Vice-Consul (1911) * Ernesto Salafia,

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

master (1914)

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, 11th Prince of Lampedusa, 12th Duke of Palma, GE (; 23 December 1896 – 23 July 1957) was an Italian writer and the last Prince of Lampedusa. He is most famous for his only novel, ''Il Gattopardo'' (first publishe ...

is sometimes said to be interred the catacombs, but he is buried in the cemetery next to them.

Scientific research

The Sicily Mummy Project was created in 2007 to study the mummies and to create profiles on those who were mummified. The project is led by

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Dario Piombino-Mascali of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity in

, and is backed by the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano The mummies are

X-Rayed An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 ...

and

CT scan A computed tomography scan (CT scan; formerly called computed axial tomography scan or CAT scan) is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers ...

ned to collect information about them, along with other anthropological and paleopathological techniques to confirm their age and gender. Piombino-Mascali credits the program with re-opening discussion about death in Sicily; Forensic biologist

Mark Benecke Mark Benecke (born 26 August 1970) is a German forensic biologist. Career Science Benecke has worked on the identification of Adolf and Eva Hitler's skull and teeth in Moscow, and is the only forensic scientist to work on the case of Co ...

identified several insects that shed light on the mummification process.

Tourism

The catacombs are open to the public. Photography inside is officially prohibited, which prominent signs make clear to visitors. However, some bodies have been shown on film in Francesco Rosi's ''Cadaveri Eccellenti'' ("Illustrious Corpses"), and television programmes such as the Channel 4 series ''

Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

'',

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

series '' The Human Body'' in 1998, '' Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe'', '' Ghosthunting With Paul O'Grady and Friends'' on

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

in 2008 and

The Learning Channel TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the own ...

in 2000. Iron grills have been installed to prevent tourists tampering or posing with the corpses.

Gallery

Image:New Corridor.jpg, New Corridor Image:Monks' Corridor.jpg, Monks' Corridor Image:Women's Corridor.jpg, Women's Corridor File:Professionalists' Corridor.jpg, Professionals' Corridor File:Men' Corridor.jpg, Men's Corridor File:Catacombe dei Cappuccini Cappella Bambini.jpg, Children File:Professionalists' Corridor-3.jpg, Cols. Giulio Enea (1848, bottom) and Paolo Ragona (1863, top) File:Paterniti's body.jpg, Giovanni Paterniti (1911) File:Rosalia im Mai.JPG,

, as she appeared in 2012

References