It seems that it was the video surveillance cameras that noticed this light and slow movement. 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. Despite offering her the best medication possible at the time, she was too young and didnt have a strong enough immune system to be able to fight pneumonia. Rosalia Lombardos body is kept in a small chapel at the end of the catacombs tour and is encased in a glass covered coffin, placed on a wooden pedestal. Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 in Palermo, Italy - December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. Rosalia Lombardos one hundred year old body may be the most beautifully embalmed body in the world. Not only do visitors swear that the little girls eyes blink, but many sequences of photographs seem to confirm that her eyelids open and close a little. Source: Sibeaster / Public Domain. Looking closer, you can notice that her eyelids are not completely closed, which was most likely done with Alfredo Salafias goal of making her more alive. In the 100 years since her death in 1920, Rosalia has become interwoven with Sicilian lore. Glycerin keeping the body from becoming too dry Some photographs taken in sequence, at intervals of about one minute, also offered a similar testimony. Rosalia's body was one of the last to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. Read more on Wikipedia. Even the best body at some point goes towards a process of decomposition, even if only partial. Some researchers, who had the opportunity to study the girl's body, later discovered that it was most likely bronchopneumonia, discarding the other theories instead. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. 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 zinc salts to give her body rigidity. Your access to this service has been limited. 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. Thanks to the technological tools we have today, the researchers noticed the presence of an empty bottle under the little girl's head. The blinking mummys mystery became famous across the world. He made a small puncture and injected a mixture of zinc salts, formalin, glycerin, and salicylic acid. However, the work that Alfredo Salaria managed to carry out on the body of little Rosalia is incredible, his most successful work ever, the body considered the most beautiful in the world by scholars and experts in the sector. A 2009 National Geographic photograph of Rosalia Lombardo shows the mummy is beginning to show signs of decomposition, most notably discoloration. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. Mario Lombardo is an infantry officer who only on this day discovers what happiness is, true happiness. At a closer look, it can be seen that her eyes are not 100% closed and this was probably done with the intention by Alfredo Salafia to make her look more alive. Some believed that some supernatural force was at work, and that the mummy actually blinked. Many others thought that the eyes might blink due to the temperature changes inside the catacomb, which made her eyelids contract and thus produced the blink-like effect. He has worked on many projects in the past including tzi the Tyrolean Iceman from Italy and the Kabayan Mummies also known as the fire mummies of the Philippines. The little girl died and her father was extremely upset. Rosalia Lombardo in her glass coffin. The results were staggering, showing that she was indeed truly a mummy and that even her organs were still in functional condition. This shifting of her body allowed Piombino-Mascali to see her eyelids from a new angle. Much of their rules involved living in as much austerity that was practical. Avid Writer with invaluable knowledge of Humanity! He also sought the embalmers elixir of preservation which has kept her form so perfect even until this day. 2022 History of Yesterday | All Rights Reserved. If you want to visit Rosalia, youre not alone. The mummy of Rosalia Lombardo (Source: The Archaeology News Network), NASA is launching the DNA of some of the most prolific presidents in US history, The 1985 story of a bear that ate 77 pounds of Plabo Escobar's finest cocaine. The typical embalming procedures include the complete removal of organs. 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. The eyes are half closed, so that the face can appear even more relaxed and sweet, an intense serenity. She now attracts thousands of visitors to the Capuchin Catacombs in Sicily where she lays forever encased in glass. Perhaps the period close to the feast of the dead is precisely the most suitable! Agatha Christies Disappearance: Amnesia, Suicide, or Despair? Her body is starting to take on a yellow waxy skin texture. But what curiosity are we talking about? Is it better to believe in science or in the irrational? Further analysis of the body show that all the organs are intact. Upcoming historian with over 30 million views online. The notes represent more of a prescription for different chemicals used for the mummification: The glycerine was used to prevent the mummified body from drying up, the saturated formol, and salicyl alcohol for killing the bacteria which formed after her death. Read our disclosure policy for more info. Palermo is a city with amazing architecture which much of its designs remaining from the Norman and Arab invasions. Alfredo also designed an ad hoc coffin for little Rosalia, with a glass lid welded to a wooden crate, so that the body could be preserved for a long time, since there was no contact with light, since in this way no one could touch the body. To add further to the folklore surrounding the Sleeping Beauty, rumor had it that Rosalia would blink multiple times a day. What is certain, however, is that Rosalia's parents traveled a lot in the years following her death, for work reasons. Thanks to Salafia's embalming . 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. Piombino-Mascali hopes that visitors will stop making any new stories about the little child mummy. Alfredo Salafia, a taxidermist, and a skillful embalmer, then mummified the dead body of Rosalia Lombardo with impressive skill, preserving her so well that even her internal organs were kept intact. Get notified of the best booming posts weekly. Mario Lombardo, her father, wanted to uncover the specific cause of her death so he could "blame" someone. To address these concerns, Rosalia Lombardos body was relocated to a more dry area of the catacombs, and her original coffin was put in a hermetically sealed glass container filled with nitrogen gas to prevent further decomposition. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Her father, Mario Lombardo, was so grief stricken that he asked an embalmer to preserve Rosalia's remains. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. Sister of Rosalia Lombardo. These questions arise spontaneously. Zinc to petrify the body. King Abu Bakr IIs mysterious voyage: Was America discovered in the early 14th century? Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920)[1] was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. Her name is Rosalia Lombardo, and she died of pneumonia caused by the Spanish Flu just one week shy of her second birthday in 1920. MYSTERIESRUNSOLVED & MRU MEDIA, 2019-2022. Researchers and scholars had made many hypotheses, but without any evidence and without having official documentation. Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920) was a Sicilian child who died of pneumonia, resulting from the Spanish flu, one week shy of her second birthday. A Net Inceptions project. The monks agreed and she was one of the last mummies placed in the catacombs. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Genealogy profile for Mario Lombardo. Rosalia's father, official Mario Lombardo, was sorely grieved upon her death, so he approached Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer, to undertake the task of preserving her. Most of the people that go to visit her mummified body believe that she is a miracle since she keeps blinking even though she has been dead for a long time. The Remains of Dead US Presidents Will Be Sent Into Space, The Man Who Surgically Brought Back Unicorns. COPYRIGHT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES & PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES, 2017-2018. The Normans were a group from France unified by a famous Viking called Rollo who took over much of Europe. Who is right? In fact, a few years ago it was realized that the girl's face was going to meet a normal decay. One strange phenomenon that scared all the tourists visiting the catacombs was that the mummy was blinking or at least that is what most people saw. Caligulas stunning 2,000-year-old sapphire ring tells of a dramatic love story, Evidence of a 14,000-year-old settlement found in western Canada, Archaeologists locate earliest known North American settlement, 2,400-year-old baskets still filled with fruit found in the submerged Egyptian city, 9,000-year-old site near Jerusalem is the Big Bang of prehistory settlement, Oldest stone tools ever found were not made by human hands, study suggests, Mysterious skeleton revealed to be that of unusual lady anchoress of York Barbican. Rosalia Lombardo born on December 13, 1918, was a Sicilian kid that died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920 from the Spanish flu. But the proof of her heritage doesn't exist. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Her story to this day is passed on by the monks who still work in the catacombs. Bipin Dimri is a writer from India with an educational background in Management Studies. Her father Mario Lombardo was understandably so beset with heartache that he sought out a renowned local embalmer by the name of Alfredo Salafia. In 1933 when the Sicilian embalmer passed away, he wrote down the secret formula of the preservation. The body of Rosalia Lombardo is certainly not the first on which Alfredo Salaria put his hands, considered one of the best embalmers of the twentieth century, chosen by many noble families over the years to create bodies for their loved ones. 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. Mario and Maria are not married at the time of Rosalia's birth, but they are very much in love. Losing a child is always a tragedy, and if it is a child of just a few years of life, the tragedy is undoubtedly even greater and more difficult to bear. La Pascualita: An Extremely Well-Preserved Corpse, or an Eerily Life-like Mannequin? Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. While her eyes generally open just slightly more than 1/8th of an inch, they open to reveal perfectly intact baby blue eyes. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Impossible to answer these questions. First solid scientific evidence that Vikings brought animals to Britain, 500,000-year-old tools in Polish cave may have belonged to extinct hominid species. It also appears that over the years, perhaps the 1960s or 1970s, the glass in the coffin broke. Rosalia Lombardo is known by many names; The Worlds Most Beautiful Mummy, Sleeping Beauty, The Girl In The Glass Coffin and of course: The Best Preserved Mummy In The World. This may just be one of the best-preserved mummies in the world, however, it is only 100 years old so it should not be the greatest wow factor. However, things can go wrong. Husband of Maria Di Cara Thousands of visitors from across the world have come to see the girl, intrigued by the many reports that the eyes of the dead body are blinking. Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920) was an Italian child who died of pneumonia, resulting from the Spanish flu, one week shy of her second birthday. It is so amazingly well-maintained that even X-rays show the internal organs to be intact. Available at: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/rosalia-lombardo-mummy-that-blinks.html, Mystery of The Blinking Child Mummy Solved. Her body was one of the last corpses to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. Father of Rosalia Lombardo and Rosalia Lombardo. Her father was so grief-stricken that he sought the aid of an embalmer and taxidermist to preserve his child. Rosalia has indeed sparked much fascination in the world of science and commoners alike. Some said this was her spirit returning to her body. Home. Rosalia died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Advertising Disclosure: This content may use referral links. It is December 13, 1918. The skin of Rosalia still appears very smooth, as if it is made of porcelain. But the magical element was the zinc salts which gave Rosalias body rigidity. They moved to other Italian cities and then also abroad, thus without having the opportunity to choose a cemetery where to bury their child. Catacombe dei Cappuccini | Palermo, Italy, Fact Analysis: Alba incoming - Eurofirst Tours Not only that, he also added paraffin, duly dissolved in ether. Thanks to Salafias embalming techniques, the body was well preserved. all right reserved COOKIES & PRIVACY POLICY, 2023 by Albaincoming Eurofirst Tours. 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