The girl in the coffin looks like she's alive. The mummy of a little girl opens and closes her eyes
More than 100 years have passed, but little Rosalia has hardly changed in appearance. Every year the chapel is visited by thousands of curious tourists from all over the world to look at this small body.
Rosalia Lombardo was born a weak and fragile child and died of pneumonia when she was almost two years old. It happened in the month of December 1920 in the city of Palermo, Italy. Rosalia's father was very upset about her death, so he turned to the famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia. He asked to keep his daughter's body from decay. And he agreed. He replaced her blood with a liquid composition of formalin, which disinfected and did not allow cadaveric bacteria to develop on her body, alcohol, which promotes rapid drying of tissues, glycerin, which protects the mummy from complete dehydration, antifungal salicylic acid and zinc salts, which gave the body hardness. The dead girl looked as if she were alive, only slightly snoozed from fatigue in her beautiful dress.
The excellent technique of embalming Salafia kept Rosalia's mummy in good condition until the 21st century. When the first signs of decomposition began to show in early 2000, the coffin with Rosalia Lombardo's body was placed in a glass container filled with nitrogen. Today it stands on a marble pedestal in the farthest part of the Capuchin Catacombs, in the middle of the chapel of Saint Rosalia. The mummy was popularly nicknamed "Sleeping Beauty" because until Rosalia's skin lost its natural color, the child seemed not dead, but asleep.
At the end of the 20th century, rumors began to circulate that the girl's mummy could be replaced with an ordinary wax copy. To refute this, the researchers brought X-ray equipment to the catacombs and enlightened the coffin with Rosalia's body. It was real. X-rays revealed not only the skeleton, but also the internal organs of the girl, which turned out to be intact. The brain was visible, only its volume was reduced by 50% due to mummification.
More than 100 years have passed, but little Rosalia has hardly changed in appearance. Every year the chapel is visited by thousands of curious tourists from all over the world to look at this small body. Rosalia Lombardo is one of the main attractions of the Capuchin catacombs located under the Monastery in Palermo. She was the last body to be buried here. In general, about 8,000 people are buried in the catacombs, including the one buried by US Vice-Consul Giovanni Paterniti. The official closure of the Catacombs for burials took place in 1881.
It is worth noting that a couple of years ago, information appeared in the media that Rosalia's eyes began to open. Her left eye opened almost 5 mm. The right one is only 2 mm. The world was able to find out what color the eyes of the "Sleeping Beauty" were - sky blue. The mystics, of course, immediately stated that the spirit of the deceased girl had finally found its body. However, such an unusual phenomenon can be fully explained from a scientific point of view. Rosalia Lombardo's eyes were never tightly closed. And they opened slightly due to a change in the temperature in the room. In addition, at different times of the day, the light falls on the baby's face at certain angles. Therefore, the illusion of opening and closing eyes is created from the side.
Rosalia Lombardo was born on December 13, 1918 in Palermo - and on December 6, 1920 she died. But this girl, who died of pneumonia, became famous only after her death. Rosalia's father, who grieved at her death, turned to the famous embalmer, Dr. Alfredo Salafia, with a request to save his daughter's body from decay. The burial of Rosalia Lombardo was one of the last in the history of the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo.
The girl's body has been resting since 1920 in a small church in Palermo. But the most surprising thing is not this at all, but the fact that after her death Rosalia ... has not changed at all. Thanks to Salafia's embalming technique - or something else - her body, exhibited in a glazed coffin on a marble pedestal in the middle of the chapel of Saint Rosalia (the last point of the tourist route through the Capuchin catacombs), has survived until the 21st century almost in its original form. Rosalia's skin did not lose its natural color, the child seemed not dead, but asleep, which is why Lombardo's mummy received the nickname "Sleeping Beauty".
Some argue that there is no miracle in this at all - and the whole point is that the unique embalming technology allowed Rosalia's body to remain as it was at the time of death.
A description of Salafia's embalming procedure was found in his manuscript archives by Messina-based paleopathologist Dario Piombino Mascali. Salafia replaced the blood of Rosalia Lombardo with a liquid composition of disinfecting formalin, alcohol that helps the body dry quickly, glycerin, which protects the mummy from complete dehydration, antifungal salicylic acid and zinc salts, which gave the body its hardness. Formula of composition: 1 part of glycerin, 1 part of a saturated formalin solution of zinc sulfate and zinc chloride, 1 part of a saturated alcoholic solution of salicylic acid. After that, the girl's body was placed in a glass coffin.
However, modern scientists argue that neither this composition, nor the procedures performed by Salafia explain such a preservation of Rosalia's body - for 83 years, the girl's body has been so well preserved that even Rosalia's blonde hair has practically not changed. Absolutely everything - eyelashes, soft tissues of the body and even bluish eyeballs, which is almost completely impossible. This phenomenon attracts tourists from all over the world.
Since even scientists consider this an incredible miracle, all this time the body of the deceased Rosalia was under observation. Experts say that weak electrical impulses were recorded emanating from the girl's brain. The computer recorded two flashes of 33 and 12 seconds duration. This is possible only if the person is alive, such outbreaks can be expected in a sleeping girl, but not in a dead girl.
Monks say that around a mysterious room in which a girl lies in a glass coffin, miracles are constantly happening. In particular, the key from the wooden lattice that closes the entrance disappears.
"35 years ago, the local caretaker overnight went mad," says Father Donatello. "He claimed to have seen Rosalia open her eyes. It lasted only half a minute. After that, the body was examined by scientists and confirmed: something is wrong." claim to have seen trembling eyelids and witnesses who heard Rosalie sigh, although the girl is medically dead.
The same monks claim that Rosalia's little body sometimes exudes the smell of wildflowers, lavender in particular. Neither scientists nor priests have an explanation for these facts.
Experts say that there is a simple, completely non-mystical explanation for this. “It's just an optical illusion produced by light falling on the mummy's face at different angles at different hours,” explained catacomb caretaker Dario Piombino-Mascali.
Baby's angelic face Rosalia Lombardobewitches with beauty. Plump lips, tender cheeks and closed eyes - she has been like this for almost a century. The body of two-year-old Rosalia was embalmed using a special technology, and today "Sleeping Beauty"considered the best-preserved mummy in the world. However, this mummy has its own secret, which shocks everyone who dares to look at it.
Baby Rosalia was only two years old when she died of pneumonia in 1920. The inconsolable father, not knowing how to survive the pain of loss, turned to the famous embalmer and taxidermist Alfred Salafia for help with a request to save the body of the angel-like child. The specialist coped with the task perfectly: for a whole century the body of the crumbs lay in the burial catacombs in Palermo (Italy). The girl's body looked fine, it seemed that she fell asleep for a while and was about to wake up. Chubby cheeks, elegant hairstyles with a bow - Rosalia looked as if she were alive.
When scientists discovered Rosalia's mummified body, they gave her the name "Sleeping Beauty." Having illuminated the body with X-rays, they were amazed: the internal organs remained incorrupt. Today, the body of Rosalia Lombardo is considered one of the best-preserved mummies in the world.
The mummy Rosalia also has her own riddle: visitors who come with an excursion to the catacombs claim that you can see how the little girl opens her blue eyes. What they see causes fear among tourists. According to one version, the "winking" effect occurs due to changes in temperature inside the crypt, the skin of the eyelids shrinks, opening the pupils. However, the curator of the exhibition, Dario Piombino-Mascali, believes that winking eyes are an optical illusion. As the sun illuminates the catacombs, the rays fall on the girl's face so that her eyes look ajar. This phenomenon can be observed several times throughout the day. Dario found the answer in 2009, when the museum workers moved the girl's coffin, and it became clear that the eyelids were ajar.
It is also interesting that Dario found the relatives of the talented embalmer, and they have preserved documents with a detailed description of the procedure for embalming the body. Instead of removing all internal organs, Alfred Salafia made a puncture in the body and gradually injected one by one substances that ensured the ideal preservation of the body over time. Formalin killed bacteria, glycerin was used to prevent drying out of the body, salicylic acid was used as an antifungal agent. In addition, Salafia used zinc chloride to fossilize the body, and subsequently there were no holes in the cheeks and nasal cavity.
If there was a rating of beauty among mummies, then this beautiful little girl would take first place every year. It is impossible to believe that she has been dead for over 100 years. How alive. It seems that she will soon wake up smiling and say that this is a prank and you have been played. But unfortunately, she left this world long ago.
She has her own little secret, from which people fall into a stupor, turn pale and lose consciousness. Next, we will talk about the secrets of beauty and the secrets hidden behind the angelic appearance of the most beautiful mummy in the world.
Rosalia Lombardo was only two years old when she died of pneumonia back in 1920. Her untimely death plunged her father into shock and depression. He decided to seek help from the famous specialist Alfredo Salafia and asked him to preserve Rosalia's body with the help of embalming and mummification. To somehow tame your pain of rubbing.
Alfredo Salafia, a skilled embalmer and taxidermist of his time. He performed an incredible, beautiful and complex operation on Rosalia, that even a hundred years after her death, it seems that the girl is just sleeping under glass in a wooden box. The girl's body is in the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo, Italy.
Her small cheeks still look firm and healthy plump. Locks of blond hair are tied neatly over the head and tied in a silk bow. In addition to the beautiful appearance, so to speak, in relation to a dead, small child. Her internal organs are not damaged, which is confirmed by X-ray scanning.
Rosalia Lombardo has long been nicknamed "Sleeping Beauty", gaining a reputation as one of the best surviving mummies in the world.
Rosalia's perfectly preserved body is only part of the story. The girl's visitors swear she blinks and winks at them. On the gif, we see her eyelids opening and closing. Or does it seem so?
Some claim to have seen her eyes. Sleeping Beauty's beautiful blue eyes have also been preserved in excellent condition. They are intact, like most of the body. You can see how they shine, as if they were alive.
Research says changes in temperature inside the crypt can cause Rosalia's eyelids to contract and unclench, producing a blinking effect. But the curator of the Capuchin Catacombs, Dario Piombino-Mascali, puts forward a different theory. Piombino-Mascali believes that the winking of Rosalia's eyes is an optical illusion. Caused by the angle of incidence of light from the windows onto her face. As the day goes by and the angle of incidence of the light changes, it seems that the girl has opened and closed her eyes several times.
Piombino-Mascali made this discovery in 2009 when he noticed workers at the museum had moved her coffin, causing her body to move slightly, allowing him to see her eyelids better than ever before. Piombino Mascali realized that Rosalia's eyes were never completely closed.
Another big discovery was the secret formula that Alfredo Salafia used to embalm Rosalia's body. That further kept him in perfect condition.
In 2009, Piombino-Mascali found living relatives of Alfredo Salafia. After talking with them, they agreed to hand over documents belonging to Salafia, where he wrote down his secret procedure and formulas of the substances used.
Unlike typical embalming, where internal organs are removed and empty cavities filled with solutions and completely dry out the body, Dr. Salafia made a small puncture in the body and injected a mixture of formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid and glycerin. Each ingredient in the blend does a unique and delicate job.
Formalin killed all bacteria, glycerin ensured that the body did not lose moisture, salicylic acid destroyed fungi and mold. The magic ingredient was zinc salts, which froze Rosalia's body in its original state. They made the skin and muscles stiff and resilient, preventing the cheeks and nasal cavities from collapsing.
The Sleeping Beauty is one of eight thousand mummies in the Capuchin catacombs in Sicily. It was one of the last corpses to be taken into the catacombs.
Rosalia's X-ray shows that her brain and liver are intact. The mesh in the picture is a coffin under the body.
Probably the most famous mummy in the whole world is Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. And the most beautiful and youngest Rosalia Lombardo.
Rosalia Lombardo was born on December 13, 1918, in the Italian city of Palermo, Sicily region (Palermo, Sicily, Italy). The baby contracted pneumonia, and her life ended on December 6, 1920, shortly before the age of two.
Heartbroken father Lombardo painfully experienced the death of his daughter. He contacted a Sicilian chemist and embalmer named Alfredo Salafia and asked to keep Rosalia from decay.
Alfredo responded to the request of his grieving father and made an embalming solution according to his own formula. Among other chemical compounds, the mixture included formalin - for disinfection, zinc salts and salicylic acid - to give the body strength, glycerin - to prevent the mummy from complete dehydration and alcohol - to quickly dry the body. The solution was pressurized through the arteries and distributed through the blood vessels.
Messina paleontologist Dario Piombino Mascali claimed in the late 20th century that he was able to figure out the secret of Alfredo's recipes after examining the discovered diary of a Sicilian embalming expert. Subsequently, the technique worked successfully in practice.
Rosalia became Salafia's most famous work. Referred to by some reporters as "the most beautiful mummy in the world," the dead girl in her early years was no different from the living one. The impression was that Lombardo was just sleeping sweetly. In the mummified body, not only the soft tissues of the face remained incorrupt. A Sicilian chemist treated the baby's eyeballs, hair, eyelashes, brain and insides.
Over the next hundred years, "Sleeping Beauty" (Italian "Bella addormentata") has remained virtually unchanged. And yet, in the mid-2000s, the first signs of decomposition began to appear. Currently, the mummy is in the chapel of Saint Rosalia in a glass-enclosed coffin filled with nitrogen and insulated with lead foil. For complete tightness, the glass container is sealed with wax. The chapel itself is located in the farthest part of the Capuchin Catacombs.
Located under the Monastery in Palermo, the Capuchin Catacombs, where about 8,000 people are buried, are visited annually by thousands of tourists from all over the world. Rosalia, along with US Vice Consul Giovanni Paterniti, who was buried here, remain the main attractions of the catacombs to this day. The baby was the last of the buried, and the official closure of the Capuchin Catacombs took place back in 1881.
The true facts from Rosalia's short life could not but be "diluted with rumors", which have accumulated in abundance over the decades. In fact, there is not a single photo of a living Sicilian girl, not a single official document revealing the identity of her parents.
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Rumor has it that Rosalia was the daughter of Mario Lombardo, an Italian general. It is known that the girl was born fragile and weak. For 24 months of her life, she experienced so much pain and fought so many diseases that it could be enough for a lifetime of an adult.
At the end of the 20th century, people appeared who assured that the baby's mummy had long crumbled, so that visitors to the catacombs are lured simply by a wax copy of Lombardo. To refute the rumors, X-ray equipment was delivered to the chapel of St. Rosalia. Studies have shown that not only the cellular structure has been preserved, but also the internal organs of the mummy. Rosalia's translucent coffin also helped establish that her brain remained intact, albeit reduced by 50% in volume due to mummification.
In 2009, a documentary about "the most beautiful mummy in the world" was released. The viewers were shown the girl's body outside and inside, including the hands lying on the sides. Previously, the upper limbs were hidden under the outer veil.
Several years ago, the media reported that Rosalia "opened her eyes." Her left eye seemed to have opened by almost 5 mm, while her right eye - by 2 mm. As they say, under the eyelids, the blue eyes of the baby were bared. Some were so amazed at the terrible phenomena that they began to claim that her spirit had returned to the body of the deceased.
The mummy scares the tourists visiting the catacombs, who think that the girl's eyes are really opening. But the superintendent of the catacombs Dario Piombino-Mascali says it's all about an optical illusion.
According to Dario, Rosalia's eyelids were never closed tightly. At different times of the day, light falls on the mummy's face at certain angles, which creates the illusion of opening and closing eyes.
Others call the real reason for Rosalia's "open eyes" fluctuations in temperatures in the catacombs.
The Capuchin catacombs are divided into a corridor of monks, men, women, professionals, priests, a new corridor, a cubicle of children and virgins. Video and photography in the catacombs is prohibited.
