Friday 3 April 2009

States of Preservation in Sicily


The Catacombs in Palermo, Italy contain lines of thousands of well preserved corpses. Dating back to 1599 when priests mummified a monk for all to see and others followed. Some of the corpses have long ago lost their flesh and are skeletons. Others have mummified flesh, hair and even eyes. All are dressed in clothes from the period in which they lived. The practice stopped in the 1920s.

A fascinating website on the subject is maintained by retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer Kimberly
King. Clicking on the title of this post should automatically link to her website. It is well worth a visit.

7 comments:

  1. Weird! - really, well, weird! fascinating though. PS. Love your new profile pic - very cool.

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  2. I've read about this place , Laurie, and I'm desparate to visit...trouble is, is quite alot further down than I usually go, so I'd need longer away - but I'll get there one day! Seriously weird!

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  3. how interesting and fascinating - thanks for the info, Judith

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  4. UNBELIEVEABLE! You have shown me something new.

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  5. Welcome Linda,
    I am glad you found something new - pretty incredible isn't it?
    Best wishes
    Laurie

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  6. There was an article about these mummies in Sicily in the February 2009 National Geographic magazine, titled : "Voices From the Crypt ; Sicilies macabre mummies offer lessons about life" ; with, as usual, excellent photographs. Had you seen that story ? Well worth the reading time if you haven't yet, and can lay your hands on it... also, saw in your profile where you said you like Dartmoor... me too !

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  7. Thanks, Owen. Funnily enough, I did buy a copy of National Geographic for the first time in years and it was the issue you mentioned - thanks for the tip off.

    Not sure if you know much about the world of Dartmoor but in 1985 I was the Co-founder and Editor of Dartmoor Magazine. It is still published and was recently sold on. I moved on from it years ago.

    Laurie

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