Mario Lombardo refused to bury her daughter, claiming that losing his son had left him distraught. If you are a WordPress user with administrative privileges on this site, please enter your email address in the box below and click "Send". People Projects . What happened to little Rosalia's body after she died. Alba incoming - Eurofirst Tours He then handed it over to the researchers who discovered the formula right there to guarantee a body the eternal sleep it deserves. Nobody can answer these questions, a mystery that after all it is perhaps good that it remains so. Available at: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/rosalia-lombardo-mummy-that-blinks.html, Mystery of The Blinking Child Mummy Solved. It should be remembered that in 1925, five years after Rosalia's death, the Lombard couple had another baby girl, who was called with the same name as their little sister, in her eternal memory. 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. Created By: Gillian Sarah | Copyright 2018 Kelsea Ventures, style="display:block; text-align:center;" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3840146551937959" data-ad-slot="9292028712">. The story of Rosalia Lombardo got to Profesor Salafia, therefore he never charged the father for his services. The other bodies present in the catacombs. Many people believed that Lombardo had opened her eyes a fraction of an inch in a composite of many time-lapse photographs. Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 - December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who passed away of pneumonia. He was always waiting for . Surely, some will say, Alfredo Salaria has studied a lot to obtain this surprising result. Perhaps the period close to the feast of the dead is precisely the most suitable! Researchers and scholars had made many hypotheses, but without any evidence and without having official documentation. The embalming took place right there, in that house where the little girl lived her first two years of life, happy and surrounded by the love of her family. [3] Sometimes called "Sleeping Beauty", hers was one of the last corpses to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark? She looks like a baby peacefully taking a nap, and although a blanket is placed over the coffin, the face is visible. 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. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Some said this was her spirit returning to her body. The catacombs are open nearly everyday and the entry fee is only 3 euros. On December 6, 1920, a few days after her second birthday, Rosalia died. If you think you have been blocked in error, contact the owner of this site for assistance. 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. 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. The grid is of the coffin beneath the body (Source:National Geographic). Even the best body at some point goes towards a process of decomposition, even if only partial. 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. 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. Her curly blonde hair and a ribbon on it make her look like she is just sleeping. But in doing so, she became something larger than life. All the other bodies present were in fact emptied of their internal organs and then left to rest for about a year. She lays near THOUSANDS of preserved humans in the 4 corridors beneath the Capuchin Church - Palermo, Sicily for all to see. Since 1920, her body has been lying in a glass-covered coffin, her head poking above a fading silk blanket. 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. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. The Lombardo family was Italian and although the Spanish flu pandemic was ending, it seemed that Rosalia's pneumonia may have been caused by this deadly disease. So, Mario in his grief sought out the famed embalmer Alfredo Salafia to preserve Rosalia forever. The first 3D image of Rosalia revealed that all the organs of her body are perfectly intact even after so many decades. There are those who believe that it is really her, little Rosalia, who blinks forever, almost a way to communicate with the world of the living. It is considered one of the best-preserved mummies in the world. To address these issues the mummy was moved to a drier spot in the catacombs, and her original coffin was placed in a hermetically sealed glass enclosure with nitrogen gas to prevent decay. [3] 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. Rosalia died due to pneumonia in a region which becomes extremely cold in the winter months. The little girl died and her father was extremely upset. Maria Cara Lombardo e Mario Lombardo, i genitori della piccola Rosalia (per gentile concessione della . But the proof of her heritage doesnt exist. Advertising Disclosure: This content may use referral links. The corpse was preserved nearly perfectly due to the dry atmosphere inside the Catacomb. Glycerin keeping the body from becoming too dry The older we get, the more constant they appear. Rosalia Lombardos remains is housed in a tiny chapel at the end of the catacomb tour, enclosed in a glass-covered coffin on a wooden pedestal. Suddenly, however, fate plays a mocking trick on the couple. He approached a popular embalmer, Alfredo Salafia and asked to have her preserved for eternity. Your email address will not be published. Piombino-Mascali made this amazing discovery in 2009 after some of the workers in the museum moved her coffin, which caused her body to shift a little bit. Rosalia's body was one of the last to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. That same year, Capuchin catacombs curator Dario Piombino-Mascali discovered a handwritten manuscript written by Salafia, wherein he lists the ingredients used to mummify Rosalia. 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. 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.. So what is legend passed down for the romanticism of love and loss, and what is the truth? A symbol of love, death, loss and a reminder of just how short life can be. Missing Three Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers. According to Piombino-Mascali, the blinking eyes of Rosalia were just an optical illusion, caused when light from windows strikes her eyes at different angles. all right reserved COOKIES & PRIVACY POLICY, 2023 by Albaincoming Eurofirst Tours. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Indeed, she is nicknamed the sleeping beauty. Mario Lombardo, her father, wanted to uncover the specific cause of her death so he could "blame" someone. A strange phenomenon that scared all tourists visiting the catacombs was that the mummy was blinking. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Heres some history and a video: Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 in Palermo, Italy December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. This mystery of blinking eyes, and the well-preserved body is what makes Rosalias mummy so fascinating. Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 in Palermo, Italy - December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. Why is there an Elephant Buried Beneath the Vatican. Rosalia Lombardos angel face pushed him to improve the preservation technique in order to preserve its natural beauty. A century has passed, but her corpse still looks like the little girl is just dozing under the glass case of the casket. Maria Cara Lombardo e Mario Lombardo, i genitori della piccola Rosalia (per gentile concessione della Famiglia Lombardo) . There are those who claim that it is a mere optical illusion, caused by how the light falls on those half-closed eyelids. Agatha Christies Disappearance: Amnesia, Suicide, or Despair? 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. They are arranged in sections such as religious figures, professions, women, virgins and children. The problem at the time, was that no one knew how Rosalia had been preserved. 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. But, the fact is, that theres not even a single photo of Rosalia when she was alive to validate any part of her history. 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. Rosalia died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. 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. 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 . The two are more and more in love, they lead a comfortable and peaceful life and their little girl grows up beautiful, healthy and strong. Required fields are marked *. (The oldest is a friar from 1599 called Silvestro da Gubbio). Her father Mario Lombardo, who was an local official, engaged noted embalmer, Alfredo Salafia to mummify her body. Rosalia Lombardo: The mystery of the Blinking Mummy, Present condition of Rosalia Lombardos mummy: The preserved corpse was relocated. Life is full of constant reminders that we will one day die. 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. I wrote about the Capuchin Catacombs already, but essentially, the Catacombs were a place where the dead were displayed in order to be visited by the living. King Abu Bakr IIs mysterious voyage: Was America discovered in the early 14th century? 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. He studied and experimented, yes, but in total autonomy. This, along with the light that filters in various ways through the tombs windows throughout the day, causes the girls eyes to seem open. She lies in the coffin, glass-covered and on a wooden pedestal. Alfredo Salafia was considered the best as he had a lot of experience preserving corpses. Its stunning streets and crossroads run to the Capuchin Monastery, another building of fine intricate beauty. Bronchopneumonia, diphtheria, typhus, over the years these have been the most widespread theories on the death of little Rosalia. Geni requires JavaScript! But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. 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. People were curious to know what was causing the dead body to blink. Rosalia Lombardo, was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Source: Multidetector CT investigation of the mummy of Rosalia Lombardo (19181920): https://www.academia.edu/4992159/Multidetector_CT_investigation_of_ Geni requires JavaScript! Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920) was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. The mummification was so complex that in 2009 National Geographic took X-ray and MRI scans of Rosalia to determine if she was truly mummified, or if she was a wax replica. We can only imagine the agony of the parents of little Rosalia. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. 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. (In Pics) Ten Extinct Animals which Survive only in Drawings. If you want to visit Rosalia, youre not alone. Enjoyed this article? 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