Rosalia, an Italian child born on December 13 in the year 1918, died due to pneumonia as a result of the Spanish flu less than two years later, on December 6, 1920. According to the laws of the time, in fact, the embalmed bodies should have remained in the Catacombs only temporarily, only to later find a definitive burial, a burial that Rosalia never had. He made a small puncture and injected a mixture of zinc salts, formalin, glycerin, and salicylic acid. Her father Mario Lombardo, who was an local official, engaged noted embalmer, Alfredo Salafia to mummify her body. Then, later in 2009 Dario Piombino-Mascali, a biological anthropologist sought out Alfredos living descendants and asked to go through his things for clues as to the formula. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Zinc to petrify the body. Powered by WordPress and Mystique theme by digitalnature | RSS Feeds, Working at the Crossroads of Life and Death, When the Public Viewing of a Mutilated Body is a Statement: The Funeral of Emmett Till. Who is wrong? People Projects . Mario and Maria are not married at the time of Rosalia's birth, but they are very much in love. Source: Sibeaster / Public Domain. Many of these ingredients are commonly used today, but the shining star of this concoction is the zinc salts which essentially petrified her body. La Pascualita: An Extremely Well-Preserved Corpse, or an Eerily Life-like Mannequin? Avid Writer with invaluable knowledge of Humanity! Alfredo Salaria arrived at the house of the Lombardo spouses, located in Piazza San Francesco di Paola, about 24 hours after the child's death. Her young age allowed Salafia to follow a simple mummification process that kept her angel face untouched and undeteriorated for over 100 years. However, once down the stairs the scene begins to change to a more basic overlay. A 2009 National Geographic photograph of Rosalia Lombardo shows the mummy is beginning to show signs of decomposition, most notably discoloration. Thanks to Salafia's embalming . Maybe he finished middle school, nothing more. A corridor of mummies inside the catacombs. Shes located in the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily with over 8,000 other mummies. Amazingly, 8000 skeletons (although a more accurate number is said to be closer to 2,000) and around 1250 mummies inhabit the catacombs. She lies in the coffin, glass-covered and on a wooden pedestal. It is possible that contact with the air before its replacement may have resulted in damage. The changing direction of the light through the day makes Rosalias eyes seem to open and close many times. Husband of Assunta Mananizza Father of Eugenia Lombardo and Rosalinda Lombardo. Later it became part of the Roman and Arab Empires before unifying with the modern-day Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 6 December 1920)[1] was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. It is difficult to untangle the feelings aroused by Rosalia, innocent and young, yet frozen between worlds, un-allowed to decay least her family lose her spirit forever. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'historyofyesterday_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_8',119,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');However,Dario Piombino- Mascali, the curator of Capuchin Catacombs has assured us that all that people are seeing is, in fact, an optical illusion. Her father, Mario Lombardo, was so grief stricken that he asked an embalmer to preserve Rosalias remains. The catacombs of the Capuchins of Palermo. General Mario Lombardo, who is said to have been so grief-stricken when she died that he refused to bury her and instead chose to have her body preserved. Notes documenting Rosalias mummification were discovered in the 1970s. Another writer speaks of the temptation and sights that Palermo offers to some famous people of history past, Aunique cultural heritagethat in many centuries has attracted and fascinated onlookers from all over the world, including many intellectuals, poets and writers such asAlexandre Dumas, Mario Praz, Guy de Maupassant, Fanny Lewald and Carlo Levi.. (The oldest is a friar from 1599 called Silvestro da Gubbio). all right reserved. Rosalia's face has very sweet features, with the plump cheeks of a two-year-old girl, delicately framed by fair hair. Rosalia's father Mario Lombardo was devastated by her death and approached Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her. [3] In fact, the only proof Rosalia the mummy has a sister is that there is a Rosalia Lombardo who was in discussion with the Sicilian government about the poor treatment of Rosalia by National Geographic. Directories Newly added. Read our disclosure policy for more info. And the body of Alfredo Salaria? The dry climate within the Catacombe allowed the body to be preserved near perfection.Gif representing the photo of Rosalia Lombardo taken from different angles (Source: Public Domain). The problem at the time, was that no one knew how Rosalia had been preserved. Accept Read More, https://www.youtube.com/embed/jrbbOCuDJCE, Post Mortem Photography Immortalizing the Dead, Padre Pio Stigmata, Miracle Worker or Fraud, https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/rosalia-lombardo-mummy-that-blinks.html, https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2014/06/mystery-of-blinking-child-mummy-solved.html. But, the fact is, that theres not even a single photo of Rosalia when she was alive to validate any part of her history. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Rosalia has indeed sparked much fascination in the world of science and commoners alike. Thanks to Salafias embalming techniques, the body was well preserved. One resident was not famous in her short life but became infamous in death. Husband of Maria Di Cara In short, Rosalia is a 98 year old mummy. Children of Llullaillaco: Where Young Children Were Sacrificed to the Gods, Church of the Dead: Home to the Peculiar Mummies of Provincial Italy. 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So, Mario in his grief sought out the famed embalmer Alfredo Salafia to preserve Rosalia forever. Many find it too overwhelming to be underground with what looks like an army of the dead from a horror film, including an Argentinian companion of mine who had to surface for air and rejoin the mortal beings above. The story was a tragedy by all accounts: Mario Lombardo, now a grieving father, couldn't bear the thought of a life without ever being able to see the face of his beloved child, Rosalia, again. [6] The mummy remains one of the best preserved bodies in the catacombs. It is reasonable to believe that the embalmer made a choice of this type to pay homage to this young missing soul, to ensure that this body could give the appearance of life. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that Rosalia's parents requested that the child's body be entrusted to Alfredo Salaria, one of the most famous embalmers of the twentieth century, with the hope in this way of being able to pay homage to the memory of the little girl, torn all too young to life, with the hope of being able to stop the passage of time. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Rosalia's father, Official Mario Lombardo, was sorely grieved upon her death, so he approached Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer, to preserve her. The corpse was preserved nearly perfectly due to the dry atmosphere inside the Catacomb. But the magical element was the zinc salts which gave Rosalias body rigidity. Mario Lombardo is an infantry officer who only on this day discovers what happiness is, true happiness. The Lombardo family was . People have witnessed that her eyes open slowly, and that the eyes seem to glisten due to the low lights in the catacombs. Rosalia Lombardo's father, official Mario Lombardo, was severely upset by the death of his loved daughter and contacted a famous Sicilian embalmer, Alfredo Salafia, to preserve the body of Rosalia. Rosalia died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. Rosalia Lombardo: The mystery of the Blinking Mummy, Present condition of Rosalia Lombardos mummy: The preserved corpse was relocated. Full text data coming soon. After washing with vinegar, they were filled with straw and then dressed. Unfortunately, though Rosalia is just 98 years old (a fairly young mummy) the truth about her life before death and her family is speculated, but unconfirmed. He has written for 8 years in a variety of fields including history, health and politics. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. Mario Lombardo, her father, wanted to uncover the specific cause of her death so he could "blame" someone. Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 in Palermo, Italy - December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. The Italian biological anthropologist was able to debunk the myths about Rosalia Lombardo. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark? Recommended Visit: The older we get, the more constant they appear. I spend many hours researching her and you can read more about that here if you want. Get notified of the best best booming posts weekly. Salicylic acid to stop the growth of fungi Rosalia Lombardo, a two-year-old girl, died in 1920 from an intensified case of bronchopneumonia, a kind of pneumonia that involves inflammation in the alveoli. There are those who say that a slight opening and closing of the eyelids actually occurs due to the humidity present and how it changes over the course of the day. Available at: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/rosalia-lombardo-mummy-that-blinks.html, Mystery of The Blinking Child Mummy Solved. Her story to this day is passed on by the monks who still work in the catacombs. Father of Rosalia Lombardo and Rosalia Lombardo. The heartbroken father of Rosalia sought the help of an embalmer named Alfredo Salafia to preserve his childs body. While Rosalia was mostly kept intact during embalming, her blood was drained and replaced by the magical formula used by Alfredo. On the historical island of Sicily sits the Sicilian capital of Palermo, resting on the toe of Italys boot-based geographical shape. A visit to the Catacombs of Capuchin is the ultimate reminder or Memento Mori (in Latin) that we too will join the endless ranks of the dead alas perhaps in not such a spectacular setting. The Lombardo family was Italian, and despite the fact that the Spanish flu pandemic was coming to an end, the girl's pneumonia appeared to have been caused by this lethal illness. Your email address will not be published. These cookies do not store any personal information. King Abu Bakr IIs mysterious voyage: Was America discovered in the early 14th century? all right reserved COOKIES & PRIVACY POLICY, 2023 by Albaincoming Eurofirst Tours. The owner of this site is using Wordfence to manage access to their site. Her grieving father couldn't settle . Rosalia Lombardo. One piece of evidence pointing to Mario being her father is that he supposedly named his second daughter Rosalia (after the first). Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920) [1] was a Palermitan child who died of pneumonia, resulting from the Spanish flu, [2] one week before her second birthday. A city steeped in religious history; it was also home to a Catholic sect called the Capuchins (An order of friars and one of the main offshoots of the Franciscan order created by famous religious devout Francis of Assisi). In the depths of the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily lies the dead body of a young girl in a wooden and glass casket. While her eyes generally open just slightly more than 1/8th of an inch, they open to reveal perfectly intact baby blue eyes. The body of Rosalia is famous among the 8,000 bodies present in these catacombs under the Capuchin convent. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason, therefore, if in the end Rosalia's body has always remained there, where it was first placed. But the girl, whose second birthday celebration would have been in just seven days, had lost her fight against pneumonia, and with it all, Mario had . However, they are not perfectly closed, they are actually ajar, as if it were sleeping, yes, but on the verge of waking up. 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