Secrets of Sicily’s Mummies

My mother is from around this area – we’ve visited these catacombs while on vacation there when I was much younger. Creepy? Yes.

Now imagine getting locked in there at night with only a lit candle to illuminate your surroundings and the corpses. Fun times!

People work there so I’m sure many people who work there have been left alone to check up on everything at night :S thats really creepy…oh wow…

“Nobody knows exactly why they have been preserved.”

That is NOT true. The bodies were unburied so that all survivors who would see them would be reminded of the truth: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.” The bodies were those of Capuchin (Franciscan) friars. At first, those who would see the bodies/skeletons were other friars, who were helped by being reminded that they should avoid coveting life outside the friary, which is over pretty quickly, and “you can’t take it with you.”

I think that it is SO amazing how Dr. Alfredo Salafia preserved Rosalia Lombardo. I personally think that she should be buried in a proper grave where she doesn’t have to be stared at all of the time. I hope she is happy and can live a more fulfilling life in heaven