Mummy!

[Seshmeister]

Those crazy Sicilians...


http://palermo.for91days.com/2011/11/06/the-bone-chilling-catacombs-of-the-capuchin-monks/

The Bone-Chilling Catacombs of the Capuchin Monks

FILED UNDER CHURCHES & PALACES, PHOTOS, VIDEOS BY MIKE POWELL


Our Travel Books: Oviedo – Savannah – Buenos Aires

Although it’s not the slightest bit rational, we humans possess a primal urge to be terrified. We love it. Why else would we pay money to watch horror films? Why visit haunted houses, or tell ghost stories? And in Palermo, a city of gorgeous churches and fascinating history, why should one of the top tourist attractions be the corpse-filled dungeon of the Catacombe dei Capuccini? Seriously, what’s wrong with us?


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/3-Dead-Kids.jpg


Found on the outer limits of the city, the Capuchin catacombs hold the remains of over 8000 souls, their disembodied shells propped up against the walls or resting in open caskets. Down in the cold, dry basement of the monastery, the relentless march of decomposition takes its sweet time. It’s a gruesome display. Though some bodies have been reduced to skulls and bones, the majority of corpses are still rotting, and their half-decomposed husks are the stuff of nightmares.
Face skin slowly peeling off skulls. Corpses striking ghoulish poses as their bodies slowly fall apart. Hollowed-out faces with grotesque grimaces, teeth and even mustaches still intact. An infant in a tiny coffin, its face reduced to a pile of crinkled skin, like dry, crushed leaves. Monks dressed in hooded robes, staring at you from their eternal perch, and an entire army of the baby-undead. It isn’t the kind of horror which jumps out at you, and you scream and then laugh about it. No, the catacombs provide the long-lasting sense of dread which worsens with each step. Which becomes more unbearable the longer you remain.


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Cute-Monks.jpg




The first monk was interred here in 1599, and his 400-year-old corpse is still on hand to greet visitors upon entrance. For centuries, the catacombs were strictly for the monks, but eventually opened to well-paying members of the public. For reasons that can only be understood as macabre, families actually wanted the corpses of their loved ones preserved and displayed, so that they could come to visit.

The most standard method of preservation was to open up the corpse shortly after death and remove all the vital organs. Then the body would be stuffed with hay, and left in the sun to dry up. Many of the corpses have hay poking through their necks and falling out of holes in their skin. We can only pray that a herd of horses never finds its way to the catacombs, because that would be a truly unholy feeding frenzy.

The final soul to be interred here was the benefactor of a special conservation process designed by a specialist named Solafia. Baby Rosalia Lombardo died in 1920 at the age of two. Her body, which rests in a special room of the catacombs, resembles a life-size doll, complete with eyelashes and hair. Far from being sweet or a “miracle of science”, she might be the most horrendous resident of all. The one who, you just know, is going to open her eyes the moment you turn your back. Luckily for all of us, the good Doctor Solafia died before he could pass on his preservation method.

Because it’s such a unique and interesting place, the Capuchin Catacombs definitely warrant a visit. But those who are easily terrified might want to stay away. We brought Jürgen’s cousin, a sensible girl who normally refuses to visit even cemeteries. I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive us.

http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Rosalia-Lombardo.jpg

http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Horror-Tour.jpg


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Mummified-Skull.jpg

http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Catacombs-Capuchin-Monks.jpg


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Die-Toten-Von-Palermo.jpg


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Scary-Tour-Palermo.jpg


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Taking-a-Little-Nap.jpg


http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/I-Want-You.jpg



http://for91days.com/photos/Palermo/Catacombs%20Capuchin%20Monks/Silvestro-Da-Cubbio.jpg



There are more pics at the site, link above.

[VAiN]

Wow, cool stuff...

[Sensible Shoes]

Way cool.

[Nitro Express]

That's the capuchin cript in Palermo, Sicily. I've been to it. I've also been to the bone church in Prague. Creepy places for sure.

[Sensible Shoes]

Why do I find the first one so fascinating and the second one so sick? It looks like a tribute to a holocaust, which isn't too far off for that area.

[ZahZoo]

So this must be the prequel...

[Sensible Shoes]

The full Monty! LMAO I love that movie. "I say 'Ni' to you".

[VAiN]

I've also been to the bone church in Prague.

I've taken some lucky ladies to the bone church. :drum:

[LoungeMachine]

Why do I find the first one so fascinating and the second one so sick? .

-overheard from the guys last time shoes and kristy double-dated.....


:gulp:

[Sensible Shoes]

The full Monty! LMAO I love that movie. "I say 'Ni' to you".

JUst in case a anybody thought I think Monty Python had a movie named "The Full Monty" - no I was making a stupid joke.

[Sensible Shoes]

-overheard from the guys last time shoes and kristy double-dated.....


:gulp:


Poor Kristy!

[ashstralia]

awesome sesh! thanks.

[Dan]

Get A Mummy Up You.:D

[Nitro Express]

I remember being a kid and my parents had a subscription to National Geographic which I read every time it came in the mail. One issue had a story on Palermo and had pictures of the capuchin crypt. Last time I was in Italy it was on the go see it list. I had to check it out. The bone church is made from bones of people who died in the black plague. In the old days everyone wanted to be buried in the church yard and when the grave yard was full they would take the bones out of the crypts and stack them in catacombs. In the case of the bone church, bored monks made art and decorated the church with the bones. A lot of the bones in famous catacombs like the ones in Paris are people who died from the black plague.

The sunny side of the black plague is it killed off the corrupt monarchs and feudal lords and paved the way for the renaissance. It would be much like most our politicians, bankers, and corporate heads dying off all at once and the tyranny and debt dies with them. Maybe mother nature needs to do some house cleaning again. LOL!