Near perfect preservation

[capncnut]

Rosalia Lombardo died in 1920 aged two. She was one of the very last bodies to be placed in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.

Click (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/474819526_30401ee533.jpg?v=0) for image.

Her remains are in a glass topped coffin on a marble pedestal in a small room of the catacombs. She was allegedly embalmed by Dr. Alfredo Solafia using a secret process which he never divulged before his death. She is regarded as something of a saint-like figure and onlookers have often claimed how it appears as if she is sleeping.

Click (http://bp2.blogger.com/_ovJS1Em-6dg/RwBh_BCYioI/AAAAAAAAO2w/lMAv_brG_C8/s1600-h/RosaliaLombardo.jpg) for close-up.

I have linked the images in case anyone finds them offensive but I think she has held up remarkably well considering the year of her passing. Amazing!

[darth los]

Rosalia Lombardo died in 1920 aged two. She was one of the very last bodies to be placed in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.

Click (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/474819526_30401ee533.jpg?v=0) for image.

Her remains are in a glass topped coffin on a marble pedestal in a small room of the catacombs. She was allegedly embalmed by Dr. Alfredo Solafia using a secret process which he never divulged before his death. She is regarded as something of a saint-like figure and onlookers have often claimed how it appears as if she is sleeping.

Click (http://bp2.blogger.com/_ovJS1Em-6dg/RwBh_BCYioI/AAAAAAAAO2w/lMAv_brG_C8/s1600-h/RosaliaLombardo.jpg) for close-up.

I have linked the images in case anyone finds them offensive but I think she has held up remarkably well considering the year of her passing. Amazing!


That IS amazing. Shame hat he took the secret with him though. Perhaps the fact that she was so young contributed to it. I've always been interested in that type of stuff from the human psychological aspect. As far as recorded history goes we have had the need to preserve and bury our dead. Why? When did that spark go of if the human brain that dictated that this was the decent thing to do? Fasinating.

[bassman]

That really is amazing! It does look like she's sleeping.

Kinda creepy, though...

[darth los]

That really is amazing! It does look like she's sleeping.

Kinda creepy, though...

Dude, of course it's creepy !!! I think that if you polled people that most of them would say that they find a dead body at the very least unnerving.

[bassman]

Dude, of course it's creepy !!! I think that if you polled people that most of them would say that they find a dead body at the very least unnerving.

Yeah, I know. I just felt the need to say it. I've seen all those egytion things that look like crap, but this is the first i've seen of a kid. And a kid that looks almost alive at that. Gave me a pinch of the heebie jeebies...

[darth los]

It's true. In the movies, when they cast children in roles like the ring and the grudge it just makes it creepier for some reason as well.

[capncnut]

I find the images very peaceful and beautiful as it happens. Although if I was standing over her coffin, I might feel different.

[Yojimbo]

As most of you know, I am in the industry, and I have to say that the level preservation is totally amazing.

I have personally seen disinterrments of remains dating from the 1920's that were very well preserved, but not to this level, and once exposed to the air the level of preservation does not keep. I have also seen disinterrments of remains that had been interred for only a few years where there was nothing remaining but bones and hair. I have no clue how in the case of this child she can remain so well preserved.

[MikePizzoff]

I don't know what else to say other than "That is amazing."

I don't find it very creepy... but I also don't find it beautiful. I suppose I'm on the middle ground? :rockbrow: I feel it's more intriguing than anything.

[brer]

It's actually in Sicily. But close enough.

My dad was stationed in Sicily about thirty years ago. I got to see it.

She's actually one of the milder exhibits at the place.

[acealive1]

didnt they have something like this involving a nun over there too?

[capncnut]

It's actually in Sicily. But close enough.
Palermo - Sicily - Southern Italy, LOL.


didnt they have something like this involving a nun over there too?
WTF? A preserved nun?

[acealive1]

Palermo - Sicily - Southern Italy, LOL.


WTF? A preserved nun?

hell i think it was mother teresa. idk. someone was in a looking glass coffin and wasnt preserved.

[Skippy911sc]

Maybe she is just waiting for the prince to kiss her?

[Yojimbo]

I remember hearing something, don't know if it is true, about Eva Peron's remains were also very well preserved and that her remains had been stolen several times by various folks who were obsessed with her. Apparently, she had been "abused" a few times when she had been stolen. This occured so many times that the Argentine government had her body moved to a secret undisclosed location to prevent these "fans" from stealing her remains ever again.

Again, this is just something that had been told to me, don't know if it is true. Perhaps someone knows more about this than I.

In rethinking this, perhaps the little girl's glass coffin is hermetically sealed. Theoretically this would aid in the preservation of human remains, at least for a while.

Weird how glass fronted coffins used to be very popular in the 20's, BTW. I never see anything like that in any of the current catalogs.

[Bub666]

That is amazing.

[capncnut]

She's actually one of the milder exhibits at the place.
What, like this guy?

http://www.infoaddict.com/fileadmin/Images/Lifestyle/Misc/catacomb-death-8.jpg

Am I the only one who finds this pic totally comical?

[MaximusIncredulous]

What, like this guy?

http://www.infoaddict.com/fileadmin/Images/Lifestyle/Misc/catacomb-death-8.jpg

Am I the only one who finds this pic totally comical?

Nope.

For some reason that picture cries out for the color of a swastika armband on that guy's arm. Strange.

[Bub666]

What, like this guy?

http://www.infoaddict.com/fileadmin/Images/Lifestyle/Misc/catacomb-death-8.jpg

Am I the only one who finds this pic totally comical?

That looks creepy.

[Comrade775]

That IS amazing. Shame hat he took the secret with him though. Perhaps the fact that she was so young contributed to it. I've always been interested in that type of stuff from the human psychological aspect. As far as recorded history goes we have had the need to preserve and bury our dead. Why? When did that spark go of if the human brain that dictated that this was the decent thing to do? Fasinating.

Like with mummification and what not, I can understand historical curiosity about what recipes were used for body preservation. But, do we really want a bunch of corpses sitting around in glass cases for the next few centuries that don't decay!? I think it's a shame they lose these recipes in the same way that it's a shame the recipe for Greek fire was lost, just in sort of an historically curious sense. I wouldn't want people to actually start using this stuff en masse. :)

[Neil]

Rosalia Lombardo died in 1920 aged two. She was one of the very last bodies to be placed in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.

Click (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/474819526_30401ee533.jpg?v=0) for image.

Her remains are in a glass topped coffin on a marble pedestal in a small room of the catacombs. She was allegedly embalmed by Dr. Alfredo Solafia using a secret process which he never divulged before his death. She is regarded as something of a saint-like figure and onlookers have often claimed how it appears as if she is sleeping.

Click (http://bp2.blogger.com/_ovJS1Em-6dg/RwBh_BCYioI/AAAAAAAAO2w/lMAv_brG_C8/s1600-h/RosaliaLombardo.jpg) for close-up.

I have linked the images in case anyone finds them offensive but I think she has held up remarkably well considering the year of her passing. Amazing!That child looks older that 2!? More like 4-5?

[Chic Freak]

It looks like she's wearing a lot of orange makeup to put some "life" back into her skin but it's still incredible. It's beautiful in a sad sort of way... poor little thing.

[capncnut]

Ye olde thread resurrected.

Was looking further into this and I've just discovered that the notes made by the original doctor, Dr. Alfredo Salafia were recently discovered, revealing the information of his preservation techniques. As follows:


Recently the mummification techniques used by Dr. Alfredo Salafia were rediscovered in a handwritten memoir of Salafia's. Dr. Salafia replaced the girls blood with a liquid made of Formalin to kill bacteria, Alcohol to dry the body, Glycerin to keep her from overdrying, Salicylic acid to kill fungi, and the most important ingredient, Zinc salts to give the body rigidity.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/2642908130_02f9ce0fee.jpg

Amazing! A two-year-old child perfectly preserved since 1920 with no major signs of deterioration in 2009. I think that's incredible, even if Jimbo will probably be the only dude to agree. ;)

[ProfessorChaos]

never noticed this thread before. pretty fancy work that dude did.....what was the other picture you'd posted earlier, capn? it isn't showing up anymore...

[capncnut]

what was the other picture you'd posted earlier, capn? it isn't showing up anymore...
Recap: Rosalia Lombardo is a two-year-old female who died in 1920 and her perfectly preserved body is in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo. She is pretty much regarded as a saint, is called 'The Sleeping Beauty', and is visited by people from all over the world.

Here's a few images to give atmosphere:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/images/lw/crypt_capuchin-catacombs.jpg
One of the many chambers.

http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2007-09/capuchin-catacombs-2.jpg
Neil's ancestors.

http://www.customcreatures.com/real.jpg
Yojimbo.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Palermo_Rosalia_Lombardo.jpg
Rosalia.

[Yojimbo]

Ye olde thread resurrected.

Was looking further into this and I've just discovered that the notes made by the original doctor, Dr. Alfredo Salafia were recently discovered, revealing the information of his preservation techniques.

Amazing! A two-year-old child perfectly preserved since 1920 with no major signs of deterioration in 2009. I think that's incredible, even if Jimbo will probably be the only dude to agree. ;)
Yes, Jimbo agrees, and finds this to be a major trip.

Now that his formula has been discovered, the preservation makes total sense since to a large degree he was using techniques and solutions that are still in use today.

Of course, the formula is only part of the puzzle since the expertise of the embalmer is likely the primary reason why this girl is so well preserved and remains so to this day. A lot of those techniques, BTW, have not really changed all that much since the 20's, and are still in use today, albeit with modernized implements.

[AcesandEights]

http://www.customcreatures.com/real.jpg
Yojimbo.


*Low whistle* So that's what over 40 looks like.

[Yojimbo]

*Low whistle* So that's what over 40 looks like.
That's not a bad looking mummy for 40+!;)

[capncnut]

The thing that blew me away the most was the ingredients, none of which are particularly hard to find. I was expecting something a bit more alchemical like "tongue of lizard, eye of newt" kinda stuff. :lol:

[Mr.G]

Photos remind me of movies/shows that illustrate how people used to take 'death photos' of the recently passed. I'm glad this tradition is no longer as popular.

[Neil]

She doesn't look quite so 'good' here...

otJPAUoB5TI

[capncnut]

Are you kidding? For 89 years, I'd say she looks tip-top, mate.

[Neil]

Are you kidding? For 89 years, I'd say she looks tip-top, mate.

Yeh, but not as stunning as the photos suggest...

[Yojimbo]

Photos remind me of movies/shows that illustrate how people used to take 'death photos' of the recently passed. I'm glad this tradition is no longer as popular.
At least the practice of Death Masks is no longer in style. Those things are truly strange.