The Palermo catacomb was originally a convent that was built in 1533 (1,p. 155). A convent is a collective group that is faithful to religious life; “a society of monks, friars or nuns” (2). The term is now used for a “society of nuns” (2). The catacomb is located underneath the monastery of the Capuchin monks (3).Near the end of the 16th century, the Capucin monks built a hypogeum for the use by the monks for their deceased brothers (1, p. 155). The construction of the underground chamber came into play when the cemetery had reached it’s maximum capacity. The first body to be placed in the crypt, was brother “Silvestro da Gubbio, who died on October 16th, 1599” (1,p. 155). The first monks to be placed in the new catacomb were those who had naturally preserved due to environmental conditions in Palermo at the time (1,p. 156). The bodies of community members who entered the catacombs in the mid-17th century were unnaturally embalmed using a special method in which the fluids were drained and then washed with vinegar (1,p. 156, 4,p. 2010). The final brother of the Cappuchins to be placed in the catacomb was Riccardo in 1871 (5).

 

Embalming was originally meant for the monks, but soon word got out to the community in which elites, nobles and bourgeois (4,p. 358) wanted to be embalmed and placed in the catacombs as their final resting place (1,p. 156). Those who wished to be placed in the catacombs had to pay a large fee. The funds received from those who wished to be embalmed and kept in the catacomb went towards the monks looking after the individuals, the upkeep of the monastery, and the cleaning of the bodies (6). The first elites to be embalmed and preserved here were “Don Carlo Firmatura in July of 1634 and Don Carlo Agliata, his wife- Giuseppina & their son Don Bernardio in June of 1636” (7,p. 49).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During this time period, the early 1600’s, artificial preservation was recognized and acknowledged as a common practice among Christian monks, along with other groups of the Christian Church, so preservation of individuals was not taboo (7,p. 50). An area of the catacombs is set aside to those who had died as virgins (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/02/sicily-crypts/gill-text/2). It is suggested that these individuals were pure, and their purity was “carried into eternity” (9).

 

Capuchin monks received their name because of the hood/hair style they wear (7,p. 51). The monks believe the preservation and display of deceased individuals is for others to reflect on life, and that material items (grave goods) do not serve a purpose after death (10).The faiths present in the catacomb are Christianity, Catholicism and Capuchin order (11).