The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy

For those that enjoy the more morbid side of exploring the world, Palermo, Italy (in addition to being an overall great vacation destination) hosts a legendary catacomb filled with more than 400 years of bodies, a testament to a very different legacy of death.  These are the Capuchin Catacombs, located beneath the monastery of the same name.  Open to public tourism, a visit to the catacombs is not for the faint of heart, as the corpses are on display openly for all to see.

Dating back to the 15^th century, the monks at Capuchin discovered an interesting fact - that their basement appeared to hold some secret combination of atmospheric elements that kept the dead well-preserved.  Seeking to avoid the face of death in appearance, if not reality, people from all walks of life chose the catacombs as the final resting place for themselves and their loved ones.  The corpses were put on display, as was a common cultural custom of the time, so that family members could come and visit when they wanted.  The dead were housed here from the 1500s to the early 1900s, the first of which was a monk recorded to have been interred in 1499.

The catacomb residents are divided according to several factors, such as men, women and children, priests and monks and various social classes.  Some of the richer denizens were buried in clothes that leave them looking, even today, quite spectacular.  Being as how they were buried over the course of more than 400 years, the corpses are in various stages of decomposition, from almost lifelike to nothing but bones and rags and pretty much everything in between.  More than 8000 mummies in all still remain beneath the monastery.

Today, the corpses are still on open display so that tourists can look upon them.  Some are lined up against the walls while others lie in caskets.  The prize of the collection is that last to be buried, a two-year-old girl whose body is still in remarkable condition.  Unfortunately, bombing during World War II caused quite a bit of damage and destroyed much of what once was, although the monastery has since been rebuilt and restored, now safe for future generations to view.

Photos courtesy of Sibeaster via Wikicommons