Palermo Convento dei Cappuccini, p.zza Cappuccini, 1

The CATACOMBS!!!

Open 9-12 e 15-17 (iWinter); 9-12 e 15-17.30 (Summer) 

ingresso € 1,50   

If you've got a secret yearning to join mummified cadavers, and your tastes lean to the bizarre, you should spend at least an hour (more if you like to walk among the dead) at these catacombs under the Capuchins Monastery. 

Some 350 years ago it was discovered that the catacombs contained a mysterious preservative that helped mummify the dead. As a result, Sicilians from nobles to maids demanded to be buried here. It even became the custom on Sunday afternoon to drive out in a horse and carriage to call on Uncle Luigi and see how he was holding together. If his corpse fell apart, it was wired together or wrapped in burlap sacking. Other bodies remained perfectly preserved as in life, perhaps with a little weight loss because of dehydration

 

 

Le catacombe custodiscono più di 8000 scheletri e corpi mummificati, sepolti tra il 1599 e il 1880 sotto la Chiesa dei Cappuccini. Il processo di mummificazione naturale fu scoperto dai padri Cappuccini durante la riesumazione di alcune salme nel XVI secolo. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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