During the recent visit by our friends, Gene and Linda, we paid a visit to the Capuchin's Chapel catacombs to see the mummies. Yep, I said mummies.... in Sicily!
 |
| 400 years old and still hanging in there |
Four hundred years ago, the Capuchin monks began mummifying their dead brethren and the practice caught on among the middle and upper classes of society. After the mummification process, people were dressed by the monks in the clothing, often their best finery, they wished to be presented in. Then they were hung up on the wall or laid out in a viewing coffin.
It sounds gruesome, but really it is all fascinating. There is a men's corridor, a lady's one, a children's one, one for professionals, and even one for virgin women. But there is no virgin men's section; I guess Sicilian men never died before gettin' it on.
Branko
No comments:
Post a Comment