Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Amber

Buon giorno.  My name is Amber Knight.  I am student from Western Oregon University.  My major is Criminal Justice and my minor is Forensic Psychology.  Today is our first day of the mummy field study in Palermo.  Dr. Dario Piombino-Mascali took us on a stroll through Sicilian history.  We started the day with the Museo Archeologico Regionale.  As we first walked into the museum, we were greeted by some darling turtles swimming in a fountain in the middle of a courtyard.  Some of Sicily’s most important legal documents and valuable Greek and Roman artefacts are here.  We saw ancient wood carvings, statues, and fish hooks dating back to B.C.

One of the museum's items

After the museum, we went to four recently restored beautiful baroque style cathedrals in Palermo.  The first was Chiesa di S. Domenico e Chiostro where we saw the tombs of the prime minister Francesco Crispi and the father of Cultural Anthropology in Sicily, Giuseppe Pitrè.

The Corso Calatafimi cemetery

Next, we went to theTesoro della Cattedrale where we saw the tombs of many saints including Saint Rosalia’s silver tomb.  The locals believe she saved Palermo from the plague.  At the cathedral, we saw the most amazing carved marble cherubs.  

At the Catalan church of Santa Eulalia, we came upon the mysterious artwork of Santiago Ydanez. It fit the theme of our day perfectly and was a pleasant surprise.

The art exhibit

Speaking of surprises, on the way to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini we stumbled upon a newly discovered burial ground.  During the construction of a parking structure, many bodies from Victorian times were uncovered.  The remains that we saw were buried with treasured pottery pieces.  There were many tunnels and holes in the ground as the bodies are being examined and relocated.  This was a very interesting surprise.  

Finally, after a very long, very hot 37 degree walk, we arrived at our destination where the famous Lombardo Rosalia awaited our arrival.  With no idea what to expect, I was astonished as we walked down corridors with rows of mummies starting down at us.  There were close to 2,000 mummies in separate sections.  The corridors included: corridoio professionisti, where mummies were dressed in uniforms, corridoio frati for the priests, and corridoio uomini for the men.  There was even a section just for babies.  This was the most difficult section to see.  There were babies of all ages.  Here, I noticed an obvious gender difference by the clothing they wore.  Just around the corner was the women’s section where the mummies were also dressed in intricate gowns including blue ribbons and crowns.  The crowns symbolized unmarried women and the blue ribbons symbolized girls who were promised to be married.  The symbols continued as we walked down the corridor to Rosalia. On the floor we saw an hourglass with butterfly wings symbolizing how quickly time flies.  And then there she was. Rosalia’s body was in pristine condition.  Her golden hair shone through her glass case.  Her delicate features were visible after almost 100 years.  Rosalia died at the age of 2 in 1920 from pneumonia.  Famous embalmer Alfredo Salafia embalmed her with his new solution that was later sent to the United States.  He also embalmed Giovanni Paterniti who is identified by a striking mustache.  After our most interesting and somber lesson we toured the cemetery where families are buried together.  The graves are decorated with photos, letters and pictures.

The catacomb entrance

The day would not be complete without an ice cold granita. 

It was an unforgettable experience.  This was only day 1.  I can not wait to see what the rest of this phenomenal field study has to offer!  Grazie mille Dario!