It is not allowed to take pictures in the dungeon where the mummies are kept. Therefore, I took the pictures from the Internet.
We were vacationing on the island of Sicily and decided to visit the Museum of the Dead, the Capuchin Catacombs.
A strange sight. In fact, these are just open graves.
Noble people made it a fashion not to be buried in the ground. Since the 16th century, almost 8,000 mummies have been buried here.

In those days, they also noticed that there was some kind of preservative in the air of the catacombs of the monastery, which slowed down the rotting of corpses.
And the clothes are very well preserved. Especially the women’s outfits look unnatural.
Already decayed flesh, almost a skeleton, and in a cap with frills. Well, a very strange sight.
But like everyone else, I was simply amazed by the little girl. They call her Sleeping Beauty. Rosalia Lombardo, who died during the flu epidemic at the beginning of the 20th century. Her mother went crazy with grief. Her father also loved her madly and asked her to be embalmed by a famous Italian doctor. The secret of embalming has almost been revealed in our time.
A composition of formaldehyde (mostly. There were also substances, for example, glycerin) was injected into the arteries under pressure.
The baby seems to be sleeping.
What struck me most was her beautiful, SHINY red hair. Even the eyelashes on her eyes were preserved, and almost 90 years have passed!
Some scientists did an X-ray of the mummy, because they thought that Rosalia was in a lethargic sleep, and maybe it was a doll. But no, the girl’s incorruptible body is completely real!
There is also a legend about a local monk whose mind became clouded after he saw the supposedly open eyes of a mummy girl.
more photos of mummies

The halls are divided into burials of monks, children, women, virgins, politicians...

The clothes on the mummies are also well preserved and it is possible to see antique jabots, ties...

Amazingly preserved dress

Mothers with their children

Contemporaries treat this place like a cemetery, albeit an open one. And they visit their ancestors

Death smile

Taking photos and videos is prohibited, but several channels managed to make a documentary

Baby's angel-like face Rosalia Lombardo captivates with beauty. Plump lips, tender cheeks and closed eyes - she has remained like this for almost a century. The body of two-year-old Rosalia was embalmed using a special technology, and today "Sleeping Beauty" considered the best preserved mummy in the world. However, this mummy has its own secret, which will shock everyone who dares to look at it.

Baby Rosalia was only two years old when she died of pneumonia in 1920. The inconsolable father, not knowing how to survive the pain of loss, turned to the famous embalmer and taxidermist Alfred Salafia for help with a request to preserve the body of the angelic child. The specialist coped with the task perfectly: for a whole century, the baby’s body lay in the burial catacombs in Palermo (Italy). The girl's body looked beautiful, it seemed that she had fallen asleep for a short time and was about to wake up. Chubby cheeks, elegant hairstyle with a bow - Rosalia looked like she was alive.

When scientists discovered Rosalia's mummified body, they gave her the name "Sleeping Beauty." Having illuminated the body with X-rays, they were amazed: the internal organs remained incorruptible. Today, the body of Rosalia Lombardo is considered one of the best preserved mummies in the world.

The mummy of Rosalia also has its own mystery: visitors who come on an excursion to the catacombs claim that they can see the baby opening her blue eyes. What they see causes fear among tourists. According to one version, the “winking” effect occurs due to temperature changes inside the crypt; the skin of the eyelids shrinks, opening the pupils slightly. However, exhibition curator Dario Piombino-Mascali believes that the winking eyes are an optical illusion. As the sun illuminates the catacombs, the rays fall on the girl’s face in such a way that her eyes look slightly open. This phenomenon can be observed several times throughout the day. Dario found the answer in 2009, when museum workers moved the girl’s coffin, and it became clear that the eyelids were slightly open.

It is also interesting that Dario found the relatives of the talented embalmer, and they kept documents with a detailed description of the procedure for embalming the body. Instead of removing all the internal organs, Alfred Salafia made a puncture in the body and gradually introduced substances one by one, which ensured the perfect preservation of the body over time. Formaldehyde killed bacteria, glycerin was used to prevent the body from drying out, and salicylic acid was used as an antifungal agent. In addition, Salafiya used zinc chloride to petrify the body, and in the future there would be no failure in the cheeks and nasal cavity.

More than 100 years have passed, but little Rosalia has hardly changed in appearance. Every year the chapel is visited by thousands of curious tourists from all over the world to look at this small body.

Rosalia Lombardo was born a weak and fragile child and died of pneumonia when she was almost two years old. It happened in December 1920 in the city of Palermo, Italy. Rosalia's father was very upset about her death, so he turned to the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia. He asked to save his daughter’s body from decay. And he agreed. He replaced her blood with a liquid composition of formalin, which disinfected and prevented cadaveric bacteria from developing on her body, alcohol, which promotes rapid drying of tissue, glycerin, which protects the mummy from complete dehydration, antifungal salicylic acid and zinc salts, which gave the body hardness. The dead girl looked like she was alive, only dozing a little from fatigue in her beautiful dress.

Salafiya's excellent embalming technique kept Rosalia's mummy in good condition until the 21st century. When the first signs of decomposition became visible in early 2000, Rosalia Lombardo's coffin was placed in a glass container filled with nitrogen. Today it stands on a marble pedestal at the farthest part of the Capuchin Catacombs, in the middle of the Chapel of Saint Rosalia. The mummy was popularly nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty” because until Rosalia’s skin lost its natural color, the child seemed not dead, but asleep.

At the end of the 20th century, rumors began to circulate that the girl’s mummy could be replaced with an ordinary wax copy. To refute this, researchers brought X-ray equipment into the catacombs and illuminated the coffin with Rosalia’s body. It was real. The X-ray revealed not only the skeleton, but also the girl’s internal organs, which turned out to be intact. The brain was visible, only its volume was reduced by 50% due to mummification.

More than 100 years have passed, but little Rosalia has hardly changed in appearance. Every year the chapel is visited by thousands of curious tourists from all over the world to look at this small body. Rosalia Lombardo is one of the main attractions of the Capuchin catacombs located under the Monastery in Palermo. She was the last body to be buried here. In total, about 8,000 people are buried in the catacombs, including the one buried by US Vice-Consul Giovanni Paterniti. The official closure of the Catacombs for burials took place in 1881.

It is worth noting that a couple of years ago, information appeared in the media that Rosalia’s eyes began to open. Her left eye opened almost 5 mm. The right one is only 2 mm. The world was able to find out what color the Sleeping Beauty's eyes were - sky blue. The mystics, of course, immediately declared that the spirit of the deceased girl had finally found her body. However, such an unusual phenomenon can be fully explained from a scientific point of view. Rosalia Lombardo's eyes were never closed tightly. And they opened slightly due to a change in temperature in the room. In addition, at different times of the day the light falls on the baby’s face at certain angles. Therefore, from the outside, the illusion of eyes opening and closing is created.

Sleeping Rosalia, a princess with a tattoo and other mysterious mummies from different parts of the world

When it comes to mummies, most people immediately think of Egypt. However, people have found ways to preserve the bodies of their dead on every continent for thousands of years. And if you add to this the number of people who were "accidentally" mummified naturally after death, then suddenly you find that mummies can be found almost everywhere, not just in the pyramids. Let us give examples of such mummies, which are almost never talked about.

1. Spiritual Cave Mummy

The so-called "Spirit Cave Mummy" was discovered in Spirit Cave near Fallon, Nevada. In 1940, Sydney and Georgia Wheeler were exploring and excavating dry caves in the area when an unfortunate incident led to a fortunate discovery. Sydney injured his ankle while escaping a rattlesnake, and the couple took refuge in a nearby cave. Inside they found not only 67 artifacts, but also two bodies wrapped in reed mats.

One body was well preserved in the cave. It belonged to a man about 45-55 years old who died approximately 1500 years ago. Only in 1994, with the help of modern technology, were they able to accurately determine the age of the mummy. And it turned out to be not one and a half thousand, but as much as 9,415 years. Incredibly, the mummy's genome sequence proved that the man was closely related to modern Native Americans.

2. The Man from Tollund

The next naturally occurring mummy, known as the Tollund Man, was discovered in Denmark in the 1950s. The deceased was believed to be about 40 years old. His corpse was dug up in a peat bog, where the acidic and deoxygenated environment kept his body and internal organs in good condition. Initially it was believed that it was the corpse of someone from the locals who had become a victim of criminals. However, it was later discovered that the "man from Tollund" died more than 2,000 years ago.

The Man from Tollund

Most researchers believe that the cause of death determined at an autopsy in the 1950s was correct: Tollund was hanged. Rope marks were found on his neck, and in 2002 a forensic examination found that his tongue was protruding and swollen, a common finding in deaths by hanging or strangulation. Although the body decomposed after it was removed from the swamp, the head was carefully preserved. It can still be seen attached to a replica of the body in the Silkeborg Museum.

3. Xin Zhui

The mummified remains of Xin Zhui (aka Lady Dai) belonged to a noblewoman of the Han Dynasty in ancient China. She died in 163 BC. at the age of approximately 50 years. Her grave was discovered in 1971 while the Chinese military was digging a tunnel near Changsha. She was discovered in an elaborate burial chamber with over 1,000 precious objects inside it.

Xin Zhui's discovery is extremely important because she is one of the most beautifully preserved mummies ever discovered in China. In fact, her skin is still elastic and her muscles are in such good condition that her joints are still able to bend. The main organs and circulatory system are also in excellent condition. Scientists were even able to extract a small amount of blood from the mummy's vein and identify her blood type: type A. Incredibly, even her eyelashes and nose hairs remained intact, and Xin Zhui still has distinct fingerprints. For this reason, Xin Zhui's corpse is still being examined at the Hunan Museum, where they are trying to find the perfect way to preserve human bodies.

4. La Doncella

In 1999, the perfectly preserved body of a teenage girl was found on the top of Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina. Known as La Doncella ("The Virgin"), the girl was discovered next to the bodies of two other young children, a girl and a boy. Their bodies are among the best preserved mummies ever found. This is because they were frozen in ice on the top of the mountain. It is believed that the "Virgin" died 500 years ago and was sacrificed by the Incas.

Sometimes children were sacrificed in various rituals, leaving them on mountain peaks where they froze to death. As terrible as this sounds, it was considered an honor that could only be bestowed on children from the most noble families. The shape of La Donacella's head suggests that she was truly noble, as the shape of her skull was modified by traditional head wraps. A huge amount of alcohol and coca leaves were also found in her body.

5. Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died in January 1924, and his body remains in the pyramidal mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow. For several years now, there have been debates about what to do with the mummy of the leader of the proletariat - bury it or continue to exhibit it.

Vladimir Lenin in the Mausoleum.

Now closely monitored by scientists, the corpse is kept at the ideal temperature and humidity in an airtight glass container to prevent decomposition. The exact method used to preserve Lenin's body is considered a state secret. However, foreign scientists have discovered that the process involves removing all the organs of the body, injecting embalming fluid into the veins, and soaking the body in the embalming fluid for about six months.

6. Rosalia Lombardo

This may be one of the saddest stories on this list. Rosalia Lombardo, who was only 2 years old, died in Palermo in 1920, a victim of pneumonia. Her father, Mario Lombardo, was so shocked by what happened that he turned to the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia with a request to preserve the tiny corpse. The body is so perfectly preserved that Rosalia is often called the “Sleeping Beauty.”

Baby Rosalia Lombardo.

Her body is kept in a glass coffin in the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo. Rosalia's mummy gained a creepy reputation as observers claimed that her eyes opened and closed at various points during the day. It is even said that her irises still have bright blue pigmentation. However, this terrifying claim was debunked when it was discovered that the effect was caused by the alternating light passing through the windows of the catacombs, as her eyes were actually in a constant half-closed state.

7. Tattooed Princess of Ukok

“Princess Ukok,” who lived in the 5th century AD, proves that tattoos remain with a person not only for life, but also after it. Her remains were found buried in a layer of ice in Siberia. Although she may not be an actual princess, "Ukoka" was almost certainly a person of high status, as she was buried next to six horses. Food items and jewelry were also found near her corpse, and some witnesses say there was even a container of cannabis.

Tattooed princess of Ukok.

Although her internal organs had long since disintegrated, her bones and some skin remained. Incredibly, the intricate tattoos on both of the woman’s arms are perfectly preserved. They show intricate images of animals and mythical creatures. It is believed that these tattoos were an important part of people's personalities, demonstrating family ties. They could also be useful after death, helping people find each other in the afterlife.

8. John Torrington

Poor John Torrington is another example of how the conditions in which a person is buried can turn him into a perfect mummy completely by accident. He was an ordinary fireman on Franklin's expedition to the Arctic Circle. John died of lead poisoning at the age of just 22 and was buried with three companions in the icy conditions of the tundra. In the 1980s, scientists who decided to exhume the body to determine the cause of death were shocked.

John Torrington.

When they opened the coffin, they saw blocks of ice. Having carefully melted the ice, the scientists saw the perfectly preserved faces of John Torrington and his ill-fated companions, who were looking right at them. The only deterioration in the condition of the corpse was a slight tightening of the lips and eyelids. Although John's face was partially blue, it was not due to freezing. His skin was colored with pigment from the blanket in which he was buried.

9. Saint Bernadette

Another relatively modern mummy, Saint Bernadette grew up in France during Victorian times. As a teenager, Bernadette Soubirous claimed to have multiple visions of the Virgin Mary. At the place where these visions took place (in the grotto) a shrine was built, and so began a series of miraculous healings attributed to the spring in this grotto. Although many of these miracles have since been debunked, a number of people to this day claim to have been cured by the water at Lourdes.

Saint Bernadette

Bernadette herself died in 1879 from tuberculosis and was posthumously canonized. Her body was exhumed at least three times and was declared "incorrupt" by the church. In other words, it mummified quite well, although some areas of decomposition were observed. This was probably due to the mishandling of her body during the exhumations. For this reason, it was decided to cover the face and hands with a layer of wax to hide the decomposition. The mummy can be seen in the chapel of St. Gildar in Nevers.

10. Mummy of an “alien” from Atacama

Perhaps the most bizarre of all the mummies on this list, the tiny Atacama "alien" mummy has one of the most tragic stories. The remains, which were found in the Chilean Atacama Desert, measure just 15 centimeters in length.

Want to receive one interesting unread article per day?

Sleeping Beauty - Rosalia Lombardo - is an amazing phenomenon that occurs with the body of a deceased girl on the island of Sicily. A girl named Rosalia Lombardo died a long time ago, but her body is still practically untouched by decomposition.

Rosalia Lombardo holds a special place in the hearts and minds of those who visit the Capuchin Catacombs. “Sleeping Beauty” from Palermo, under this name she became known in the world.

Rosalia Lombardo died of pneumonia in the city of Palermo, Sicily, in December 1920. Her father, General Lombardo, was so heartbroken that he wanted to bury his daughter's body in the catacombs, while preserving her body in its original form. He was lucky that his request was granted, since burials were prohibited in the catacombs at that time, and Rosalia became one of the last to be buried there.

Before placing her body in the catacombs, Rosalia's father hired the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia. He was an Italian chemist who spent many years perfecting his embalming technique. As a result of his research, he developed an embalming formula in which bodies were preserved for an unprecedentedly good and long time.

Salafiya perfected his embalming skills on animals before moving on to humans. His methods differed significantly from traditional embalming. He simply injected the drug he invented into the carotid artery, without actually carrying out any other preparatory steps for embalming the body. I didn't even drain the blood.

Salafiya worked so well that the embalming he performed was able to stop the ravages of time. The girl’s body was so well preserved that even in this photograph taken in 1995, it seems that Rosalia is simply sleeping.

Photo. Mummy of Rosalia Lombardo

Salafiya died in 1933, taking the secret of his formula with him to the grave. However, long research led to the fact that his secret was revealed: he used formaldehyde to kill all bacteria, salicylic acid to stop the growth of fungi, alcohol, which helps the body dry out quickly, while glycerin prevents it from drying out completely. drying (which prevents the leather from becoming too brittle and cracking).

However, Salafiya's most important secret was the use of zinc salts. They gave Rosalia's body hardness, preventing the formation of corrosion and depressions on her body, for example on the cheeks and in the nasal cavity, which is why the girl still looks like she is alive.

But even if you don't take into account Rosalia's appearance, her story is amazing for other reasons. She has the same name as the patron saint of Palermo, Saint Rosalia.

Legend has it that Saint Rosalia was born into a noble family and devoted her life to religion. At the end of her life, she was led to a cave by two angels, here she spent the rest of her life as a hermit, and died in 1166.

Five hundred years later, Palermo was struck by plague, and Rosalia appeared to a sick woman and then to a hunter, telling them where her remains could be found. A hunter found her body in a cave, and Rosalia's remains were carried through the city, after which the plague ended.

Photo. Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo

Another amazing moment in this whole story is the girl’s eyes. Sometimes, several days and nights a year, they slowly open and close, as if a girl is trying to throw off the shackles of eternal sleep.

Over the years, a growing number of eyewitnesses swore that when visiting the catacombs, they noticed that the girl’s eyes were slightly open, while on previous occasions they were definitely tightly closed.

In a number of cases, people took photographs of Rosalia's face throughout the day, and indeed, in the photographs it was noticeable that the girl's eyes seemed to be slightly open.

A camera installed in the catacombs for 12 hours recorded how the girl’s eyes slowly opened, then closed again.

Many consider this a real miracle, some consider it a paranormal phenomenon. There are those who try to rationally explain this phenomenon by saying that the eyes are affected by changes in temperature and humidity.

In 2009, it was noticed that the body was finally starting to show signs of decay. Currently, Rosalia has been placed in an airtight container.

However, Rosalia's body is still in excellent condition, and in its new storage, it will lie for many, many more years.