Despite offering her the best medication possible at the time, she was too young and didnt have a strong enough immune system to be able to fight pneumonia. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason, therefore, if in the end Rosalia's body has always remained there, where it was first placed. Some said this was her spirit returning to her body. Rosalia's father, Mario Lombardo, was grieving her death, asked Alfredo Salafia, an embalmer, to preserve her remains. Life goes on happily for Mario and Maria. Mario was grieving so much after her death that he asked Alfredo Salafia (a well-known Italian chemist) to mummify her and keep her as alive as possible (looking). But let's go back to that December 6, 1920. Piombino-Mascali made this amazing discovery in 2009 after some of the workers in the museum moved her coffin, which caused her body to shift a little bit. Wordfence is a security plugin installed on over 4 million WordPress sites. It seems that it was the video surveillance cameras that noticed this light and slow movement. Her curly blonde hair and a ribbon on it make her look like she is just sleeping. One piece of evidence pointing to Mario being her father is that he supposedly named his second daughter Rosalia (after the first). Rosalias father, Official Mario Lombardo, was sorely grieved upon her death, so he approached Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer, to preserve her. X-rays of the body reveal that all of the organs are extremely healthy. One of the properties that makes Rosalia such a beautiful mummy is the embalming process that was used to preserve her. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. That same year, Capuchin catacombs curator Dario Piombino-Mascali discovered a handwritten manuscript written by Salafia, wherein he lists the ingredients used to mummify Rosalia. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. She now attracts thousands of visitors to the Capuchin Catacombs in Sicily where she lays forever encased in glass. Many of the bodies who hang on the walls were protected in cages because some tourists had a kleptomaniacal penchant for taking bones as souvenirs. ", "This Mummified Two-Year-Old Appears to Blink Every Day", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rosalia_Lombardo&oldid=1135738502, Sleeping Beauty of the Capuchin Catacombs, Being in an especially well preserved state in her tomb, in the, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 15:26. Salafia replaced the girls blood with a liquid made of formalin to kill bacteria, alcohol to dry the body, glycerin to keep her from overdrying, salicylic acid to kill fungi, and zinc salts to give her body rigidity. Maria di Cara, his partner, has in fact just given birth to their first daughter, Rosalia. [6] The mummy remains one of the best preserved bodies in the catacombs. Husband of Maria Di Cara Many find it too overwhelming to be underground with what looks like an army of the dead from a horror film, including an Argentinian companion of mine who had to surface for air and rejoin the mortal beings above. Available at: https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2014/06/mystery-of-blinking-child-mummy-solved.html. The mummification was so complex that in 2009 National Geographic took X-ray and MRI scans of Rosalia to determine if she was truly mummified, or if she was a wax replica. Later it became part of the Roman and Arab Empires before unifying with the modern-day Kingdom of Italy in 1861. He also sought the embalmers elixir of preservation which has kept her form so perfect even until this day. Your access to this service has been limited. Rosalia died due to pneumonia in a region which becomes extremely cold in the winter months. All rights reserved. It seems that it was a common practice to insert a bottle in the coffin containing the reagent capable of preventing the formation of mold and ensuring that the body was preserved longer. Compared to when the body was placed in the Catacombs of the Capuchins, it seems that the skin of the child's face has become darker and that the hair has instead lightened, from brown to blond. But what curiosity are we talking about? Also, check out Children of Llullaillaco: Where Young Children Were Sacrificed to the Gods. Mario Lombardo is an infantry officer who only on this day discovers what happiness is, true happiness. Her father Mario Lombardo, who was an local official, engaged noted embalmer, Alfredo Salafia to mummify her body. Notes documenting Rosalias mummification were discovered in the 1970s. Researchers and scholars had made many hypotheses, but without any evidence and without having official documentation. (Sibeaster / Wikimedia Commons). Rosalia died barely one week before her second birthday. Mario, her father, approached Alfredo Salafia, embalmer and taxidermist, to preserve her. [3] Sometimes called "Sleeping Beauty", hers was one of the last corpses to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo in Sicily. The latter was a Sicilian little girl born in 1918 and dead in 1920 of pneumonia, at just two years. Rosalia died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. But the magical element was the zinc salts which gave Rosalias body rigidity. The Lombardo family was . All the other bodies present were in fact emptied of their internal organs and then left to rest for about a year. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Legend has it that she was a sickly child who suffered illnesses and pain until she contracted a pneumonia at the age of 2 and died from her illness. The researchers then created a new aluminum case for Rosalia Lombardo, saturated with nitrogen, and moved the girl's body to a less humid place. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. But why the bottle under Rosalia's head is completely empty remains an inexplicable mystery. (The oldest is a friar from 1599 called Silvestro da Gubbio). The two are more and more in love, they lead a comfortable and peaceful life and their little girl grows up beautiful, healthy and strong. Rosalia Lombardo sadly passed away just before her second birthday back in 1920 due to a case of pneumonia, which experts suggest was likely caused by the Spanish flu pandemic. Rosalia was an Italian child who died in 1918 in Palermo. Rosalia was born on December 13, 1918 and died on December 6, 1920 of pneumonia. Further studies however, including time-lapse photos by National Geographic, show that Rosalia does in fact blink several times an hour! if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'historyofyesterday_com-box-3','ezslot_6',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-box-3-0');ummification, even if still practiced to this day in remote cultures, is very rare in the western world. [5] To address these issues, the mummy was moved to a drier spot in the catacombs, and her original coffin was placed in a hermetically sealed glass enclosure with nitrogen gas to prevent decay. While this sparked stories about the mummy who could open her eyes on the internet, in 2009, Italian biological anthropologist Dario Piombino-Mascali disproved the core myth surrounding Rosalia Lombardo. Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920) was a Sicilian child who died of pneumonia, resulting from the Spanish flu, one week shy of her second birthday. He has written for 8 years in a variety of fields including history, health and politics. These blue eyes, like the rest of her body, are remarkably intact. Despite providing her with the greatest medicine available at the time, she was still extremely young and lacked the necessary immune system to combat bronchopneumonia. A strange phenomenon that scared all tourists visiting the catacombs was that the mummy was blinking. Even if the little girl's body has not found a worthy burial, the choice to embalm her so as to be able to give her eternal rest and to give her name to her little sister are the clear sign of how much Rosalia was loved. Caligulas stunning 2,000-year-old sapphire ring tells of a dramatic love story, Evidence of a 14,000-year-old settlement found in western Canada, Archaeologists locate earliest known North American settlement, 2,400-year-old baskets still filled with fruit found in the submerged Egyptian city, 9,000-year-old site near Jerusalem is the Big Bang of prehistory settlement, Oldest stone tools ever found were not made by human hands, study suggests, Mysterious skeleton revealed to be that of unusual lady anchoress of York Barbican. Home. Created By: Gillian Sarah | Copyright 2018 Kelsea Ventures, style="display:block; text-align:center;" data-ad-layout="in-article" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3840146551937959" data-ad-slot="9292028712">. Rosalia Lombardo (13 December 1918 - 6 December 1920)[1] was an Italian child who died of pneumonia. Piombino-Mascali hopes that visitors will stop making any new stories about the little child mummy. Nobody can answer these questions, a mystery that after all it is perhaps good that it remains so. Most visitors to her mummified remains say she is a miracle because she blinks even though she has been dead for a long time. The mummy is one of the best preserved bodies in the catacombs. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. She lays near THOUSANDS of preserved humans in the 4 corridors beneath the Capuchin Church - Palermo, Sicily for all to see. The Lombardo family was Italian and although the Spanish flu pandemic was ending, it seemed that Rosalia's pneumonia may have been caused by this deadly disease. Via Panepinto 8 I-92022 Cammarata (Ag) Italy Who is wrong? Obviously it was expensive, for this reason these bodies almost all belong to people of high class. Required fields are marked *. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. One piece of evidence pointing to Mario being her father is that he supposedly named his second daughter Rosalia (after the first). Rosalia's father, official Mario Lombardo, was sorely grieved upon her death, so he approached Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer, to undertake the task of preserving her. The older we get, the more constant they appear. Rosalia Lombardo (December 13, 1918 - December 6, 1920), was an Italian child who passed away of pneumonia. There are those who say that a slight opening and closing of the eyelids actually occurs due to the humidity present and how it changes over the course of the day. Glycerin prevented her body from desiccating or drying out. The father refused to bury his daughter, seemingly extremely traumatized because of losing his child.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofyesterday_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',104,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Rosalias death took place only a week shy of her second birthday. But Salafia did something different. When he uncovered this trove of the embalmers papers, he stumbled upon the document where the embalmer recorded all the chemicals that were injected in the body of Rosalia. Rosalia Lombardo. Maria di Cara, his partner, has in fact just given birth to their first daughter, Rosalia. The oldest is a miracle because she blinks even though she has dead..., this website uses cookies to improve your experience scholars had made many,..., for this reason these bodies almost all belong to people of high class remains., his partner, has in fact blink several times an hour Young! 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