{"id":171,"date":"2022-07-21T11:17:45","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T11:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/?p=171"},"modified":"2022-08-30T16:00:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T16:00:32","slug":"tecniche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/tecniche\/","title":{"rendered":"The Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An Ancient Tradition<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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THE MUMMIFICATION<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The\u00a0practice of mummification\u00a0is an ancient tradition that has taken hold particularly in Sicily and the\u00a0Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo\u00a0are the highest expression of this tradition, because of the huge number of preserved human housed in them.

A fascinating overview that lead to reflection on the meaning of death and it allows a better understanding of this solemn tradition of the ancient Sicilian society, particularly evident in the Palermitan aristocracy and Palermitan people.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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THE TECHNIQUES<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA\u00a0mummy\u00a0is a corpse that has been preserved after death and it has not decomposed. It is considered a mummy, and not simply a skeleton, the body that retains a bit of its tissue, such as skin, hair, muscles. This can happen as a natural process, called natural mummification, or as an intentional process, called artificial mummification.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNatural Mummification\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMost of the bodies found in the\u00a0Catacombs of Palermo\u00a0were preserved naturally.

The\u00a0natural mummification\u00a0is a process of transformation of the body which is based on dehydration: removing the fluids present in the tissues it stops the growth of bacteria and consequently also the process of decay of the body.\u2028And this is the mummification process that the Capuchins perfected after the miraculous discovery of\u00a0forty-five corpses intact.\u2028Shortly after death, the bodies were placed in a preparation room called the \"colatoio\", where were removed the internal organs; in their place were added straw or bay leaves, in order to facilitate the process of dehydration.\n

\nThe bodies were placed in a supine position on grids made of terracotta tubes, so their bodily fluids could drain away and their flesh dessicate. The colatoio, which rappresented the optimal environment for mummification, with drier air and very low humidity, were then shut off for close to a year. After the corpses were exposed to the air, washed with vinegar and dressed, often in clothes of their own choosing, before being inserted in the wall niches.\u2028At the end, the skin took on the consistency of leather and the body was characterized by a reduced weight and general stiffness.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNatural mummification, however, was not the only method employed by Capuchins for cadaver preservation.\u2028During periods of epidemics, they\u00a0bathed the bodies in arsenic. The results were mummies surprisingly intact, still nowadays. Is this the method used for the body of\u00a0Antonio Prestigiacomo\u00a0standing in the Catacombs within a niche with rose-colored face.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Artificial Mummification\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\nThe\u00a0artificial mummification, also called\u00a0embalming, is achieved by injection of chemicals.\u2028In the Catacombs of Palermo this process of preservation of the bodies was used only occasionally.\u2028Famous is the case of\u00a0Rosalia Lombardo, a child of two years died in Palermo in 1920 and embalmed by\u00a0Dr. Alfredo Salafia, which results are still visible: the serene face, the golden curls that fall on the forehead, the soft and relaxed skin give an incredible feeling of life so as to be considered the \"world's most beautiful mummy\".\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"You are what we were, we are what you will be.\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Discover More<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Origins<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The\u00a0Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo\u00a0were built as a simple cemetery in which to bury the monks of the monastery and their current development it must be to the case.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The History<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The news of the\u00a045 bodies found intact\u00a0in the Capuchin convent attracted great attention. <\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Corridors<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The mummies were arranged throughout the corridors by profession, sex and social status.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The\u00a0practice of mummification\u00a0is an ancient tradition that has taken hold particularly in Sicily and the\u00a0Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo\u00a0are the highest expression of this tradition, because of the huge number of preserved human housed in them. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":653,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions\/653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catacombefraticappuccini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}