One of the last bodies laid to rest in the Catacombs of the Capuchin monks of Palermo, Italy, was Rosalia Lombardo. Only 2 years old when she died on December 6, 1920, apparently of a bronchial infection, Rosalia has gained fame because of the excellent preservation of her body. She is often referred to as “The Sleeping Beauty.”
Her embalmer was Professor Alfredo Salafia, an Italian chemist who discovered a way to preserve bodies using a special formula: formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin. Formalin was used to kill bacteria; alcohol dried Rosalia’s body; glycerin stopped the body from drying out too much; and salicylic acid stopped the growth of fungus.
It was the zinc salts that were most responsible for Rosalia’s amazing state of preservation. Zinc, which is no longer used by embalmers in the United States, gave her rigidity - you could take her out of the casket prop her up, and she would stand by herself.
Would be interesting to see how it developes over time though... I mean 1920 was not that long ago... if its still as impressive as this after 300 or 500 years then I can say its miracle indeed. Anyway I want to be buried rather than embalmed... surely they took the organs etc out so this is merely a shell rather than a complete body right?
Would be interesting to see how it developes over time though... I mean 1920 was not that long ago... if its still as impressive as this after 300 or 500 years then I can say its miracle indeed.
Yeah it has slowly started to show signs of decay e.g. discoloration. They moved the mummy to a new drier spot in the catacombs, and her original coffin was placed in a hermetically sealed glass enclosure with nitrogen gas to prevent decay. But then it was returned to its original location. I'm assuming the scientists are going to keep fighting to keep it looking good as long as they can.
So aside from just wanting to see if they can; are there any other reasons to do this?
Apparently, her dad was grief-stricken when she passed away and didn't want to let go of her. He was the one who approached the embalmer to get his daughter's body preserved.
