The Catacombs Where the Dead Stand in Rows
Under a monastery in Palermo, thousands of the dead stand along the walls in their best clothes, as if waiting for something.
What was reported
In 1599, the Capuchin friars of Palermo found that the bodies of their brothers buried beneath the monastery had naturally mummified. They began preserving the dead and displaying them in corridors cut beneath the church. Soon wealthy families of Palermo wanted to be preserved there too.
Around 8,000 bodies remain, some lying in coffins, many standing or hanging upright along the walls in their clothes, arranged by group: men, women, priests, professionals, children. The last burials were in the 1920s. One of them, a small child, is so well preserved that she seems to be asleep.
Explanations offered
The bodies were dried out in special chambers, and some were later treated with chemicals such as arsenic. Families visited their relatives and changed their clothes. The catacombs are open to visitors, though photography is restricted out of respect for the dead.
- When
- Used from 1599 to the 1920s
- Where
- Capuchin Catacombs, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
- Witnesses
- Visitors since the 1700s
- Status
- A real place
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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