Mummy Monday: Ask a Mortician Talks About Sicily's Rosalia Lombardo

Happy Mummy Monday, everyone! In a previous post, we've talked about one of the most famous and beautifully-preserved mummies, that of Rosalia Lombardo. (Check it out here if you missed it!) This child mummy we preserved by the famous embalmer, Alfredo Salafia, following the girl's death at the age of 2. She is amazingly well-preserved both externally and internally with all of her organs still in place.

Thanks to the phenomenal work of our very own, Dario Piombino-Mascali, we know quite a bit about this unique mummy. Salafia's secret embalming recipe was revealed through careful examination of the embalmer's notes and imaging techniques have shown the incredible preservation of internal structures. As the curator for the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, the place where Rosalia Lombardo is interred, Dario has also played a vital role in the long-term preservation of the little girl's remains. Today, this precious mummy is on display inside of a nitrogen chamber within the catacombs to protect her from further damage by bacteria and other curatorial concerns.

Mortician, author, and YouTube host, Caitlin Doughty, recently released a new episode of Ask a Mortician that features Rosalia and her story...including Dario's crucial role! For those of you joining us in Sicily this summer, you will be learning a lot more about this mummy and her history...plus, you will get to meet her as part of our field trip to the Capuchin Catacombs! So, without further ado, I would like to share with you this episode:

Be sure to check out more mummy stories from Ask a Mortician
and Doughty's nonprofit organization, The Order of the Good Death!