Saturday, July 28th

Hello, my name is Briana Cravens. I am an undergraduate studying forensic science with a focus in biochemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Briana

On Saturday July 28th, Dario Piombino-Mascali took the group to the Basilica Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. There we learned about how the church is directly owned by the Vatican which makes it richer and more privileged. 

The main altar

When people of the church would pass away they wanted to be buried as close as they could to the sacred relics (saint) as they could in the church. This is also referred to as Ad Sanctos or “Buried next to the Saints”. The nuns would occasionally open the bodies from the back and remove their organs. When examining the gallbladder they found three stones that they believed represented the holy trinity. Other types of preservation included anointing the body with perfumed oils, filling the body with preserved materials or excarnation. Nitrogen is very good for preserving heritage. Also, low humidity helps better preserve the body. 

The blessed Antonio Franco from Naples

Catholic remains are very important in Italy because they provide a lot of information on saints and religion. Different saints are shown with different items (symbol). I learned that each city can be represented by a saint, but often more than one city have the same saint. Also, different churches in each city and have their own saint. Three different ways to approach the study of saints: bodies, paintings, and biographies. Paintings and biographies can be bias while the bodies are not. 

The apse of the church

Keep checking on the page to see what the group is up to the rest of the week! Thank you!