Many visitors exploring the Cappuccini Catacombs in Italy shudder at the sight of Rosalia’s mummified corpse, whose eyes seem to flicker.
Little Rosalia Lombardo was only two years old when she succumbed to pneumonia in 1920. Overwhelmed with grief, her father sought the services of Alfredo Salafia, a renowned embalmer and taxidermist in the city of Palermo, Italy.
Alfredo displayed his professional expertise with Rosalia, to the extent that nearly 100 years later, the little girl appears as if she is merely dreaming behind the glass. Photo: Unknown.
Resting in the Catacombe Dei Cappuccini beneath a monastery in Palermo, Rosalia still retains her childlike features with slightly chubby cheeks, closed eyelashes, and atop her head, a silk bow around a bundle of golden curls. She is affectionately referred to as the “Sleeping Beauty.”
The internal organs within her body remain intact, making Rosalia one of the best-preserved mummies in the world. Standing out among thousands of corpses in the Cappuccini Catacombs, Rosalia attracts a large number of daily visitors.
Many tourists have had spine-chilling moments witnessing Rosalia subtly blinking. The peculiar aspect is that Rosalia’s eyes, like other parts of her body, are as rigid as stone during the embalming process.
This phenomenon has been a topic of fervent discussion for years. Some reports, documented through images and videos, claim that Rosalia’s eyes open and close multiple times a day. Some speculate that changes in temperature within the catacomb create an opening and closing effect for Rosalia’s eyelids.
However, Dario Piombino-Mascali, the custodian of the catacomb, proposes a completely different hypothesis. He believes that Rosalia’s blinking eyes are merely an optical illusion, formed when beams of light pass through the window and illuminate the coffin at a specific angle. As the direction of light changes, Rosalia appears to open and close her eyes multiple times a day.
Dario made this discovery in 2009 when he had the opportunity to observe Rosalia’s eyes more closely, as museum workers inadvertently shifted her coffin. In reality, Rosalia’s eyes have never fully closed.
Dario’s significant breakthrough was uncovering the secret embalming formula that Alfredo Salafia applied to Rosalia. Unlike other embalming techniques worldwide, Alfredo did not completely remove internal organs and fill the body with natron salt to desiccate Rosalia’s remains. Instead, he made a small incision, injected a mixture of formalin, zinc salt, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin.
Each component played a specific role: formalin killed all bacteria, glycerin maintained a certain level of moisture, while acid prevented mold growth. This magical formula containing zinc salt preserved Rosalia’s body like stone, preventing deformation of facial features.
Dario’s hypothesis dispelled many rumors and unreal stories surrounding the little girl’s mummified remains. Although no longer as mystical, Rosalia’s mummy remains the focal point for catacomb visitors in Palermo.
