The Capuchins Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily are attracting the attentions of the Taphophile community at present. I remembered that I had published some vintage postcards of the catacombs on another blog more than two years ago. I thought I should share them here with you.
The catacombs 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 retires US Navy Chief Petty Officer Kimberly King. Click HERE to visit her website. It is well work a visit. People may wish to visit another site HERE which has some really stunning photographs!
The catacombs 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 retires US Navy Chief Petty Officer Kimberly King. Click HERE to visit her website. It is well work a visit. People may wish to visit another site HERE which has some really stunning photographs!
I was in Palermo the year before last and really wanted to visit the catacombs, but my fellow travelers thought it was too morbid. Wish you had been along!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lost opportunity, Christine. Together, we might have persuaded them!
ReplyDeleteLaurie