Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-07-26
THE CApUCuIN CATACOMBs.
A Terribly Realistic Description OF the
Dead ri-bcians OF Palermo

Terribly Realistic b'scf'p''"" w WV
Dead rIrbcians OF Palermo
The soil upon which the Capuchin
monastery at Palermo, Italy, Is bilit
possesses TO such degree the singular
property Of Fastening the dccomposi-
ton Of corpse that in one year Moth
inr remains upon the bones except u
few patches Of black. withcrcd SKIN,
and perhaps some of the hair OF the
beard and checks. The collins are
placed in small lateral vaults, each OF
which contains about eight or ten dead,
and after year passes the collin Is
| opcncd and the corpse taken ont, n
| frghtful mummy and is then suspchh-
| ed in one of the main galleries, "h'rc
| the members Of the family come TO
visit it. Those who wish to bc pre-
served by this drying process make
| their wills accordingly, and they VIII
| be filed away under those black vaults
| so long as their relatives pay certain
annual stipend. When this is no long
cr paid the remains are taken away
and buried in the ordinary manner.
To enter we pass through chapel
and slowly descend broad stairway
| of stone. Before us is an immense gal
| lcry. to whose walls are suspended u
| whole nation Of skeletons clad IN the
most oddly grotcsquc costumes. some
| hang in the air side by side. line OF
dead stands erect upon the ground.
| Some heads are gnawcd by hidcous
ycrctations, which dcform even stlll
more the Jaws and the bones of the
face; some still preserve their hair,
| S,, nt II mel he others
| long bit OF beard.
| And they are are all dressed, these
| dcad--thcsc wrctchcd, hidcous, and
ridiculous dcad-all dressed by their
relatives, who have taken them out OF
| their collins in order to make them take
part in this awful assembly. Almost
| all are clad in sort of long. black
robe, with cowl which is generally
drawn over the head. But there are
Others whose friends desired TO attire
more sumptuously, and the miserable
| skeleton, wearing an embroidered
Greek cap and onvclopcd in rich
mans drcssing-gown. seems. As 1t lies
upon its back. to sleep nightmarlSh
slccp-a sleep at once ludicrous and
terrific. A placard like blind man 5
bcgging-card, bearing the name and
the date of death, is hung to the neck
Of each corpse. those dates make n
cold shivcr pass through the very mar,
row of ones bones.
Here are the women. even more bur
lcsque than the men, for they have been
coqucttishly attired and bcdcckcd
Their heads S are at you from within
bonnets decorated with ribbons and
with lace, making a snOw-whitc firing,
around each black face, all putrc!icd
all gnawcd by the strange chemistry ol
the earth. Their hands protrudr, like
the severed roots Of trees, from tn,
sleeves of new dresses, and She stock
ings that contain the bones Of the leg
look empty. Sometimes the dead veal
only pair of shoes, large, too large
for the poor dricd-up feet.
But now we enter gallery full of lit
tie glass coilius; this Is the children
burial chamber. The bones Of the lit
tie creatures, still soft, could not resis
the work OF decomposition. And 20,
can tell exactly what you are looking
at, the miserable little things are so de
formed, so crushed, so frightfully shape
less! But tears come to your eye
when YOU observe that the mother
have dressed them all in the same litti
dresses they wore when alive. An,
they come here to look at them some
times.
Often you see beside the corpse
, photograph showing the living pcrsol
. AS he was, and nothing is more start
ling, more terrifying, than this con
| | trast.
We pass through another gallery
| lower and darker, which seems to hay
been reserved for the poor. In on
D | black recess there are some twenty {
them, suspended all together under Il
opening IN the roof, which lets IN til
outer Air upon them in strong and SUE
den whin,. They are clad in "A sort (
black canvas, fastened about the ncC
and feet; and, rs they lean one ov.
, the other, you imagine they are shive
: ing, seeking to escape, screaming I,
help. They look like the browne
!. crew Of some ship.
e Here is the chamber Of the priests
a vast gallery of horrors! At the iir,
s glance they seem more terrible than I'll
. others, robcd in their sacred v"slmcnt
black, red, and violet. iint rs yo
examine them on" after the other
nervous and irrcprcSsiblo laugh sciH'
- you at the spectacle of their bizarre a
/, titudcs, the CHASTITY comedy Of the
: poses. You behold some vino sing; yu
n see others who pray. The faces OF II
, have been lifted up, the hands Of II
, nave been crossed. They wear III
saccrdOtal birrilH upon their ilc,hlr,
II brows. Sometimes it hangs ,idcwnS
IS over one car in Il juruIar way som,
IS time, it slips down over the nose.
n very carnival OF death Is this. mad
a more burlcsquc by til" glld"i richncs
of the ecclesiastical rubr>
From time to tina Il head rolls dow
e upon the ground. the attachments ,
: the neck having brru gm,wri throug
i by mice. Ihou-"ut, Of mi'r dwell /
b this human charuul-huu.r.
n On festival days the cut.rpubs Of III
. CapuchinS are thrown open to the put
! lie. Once Il drunken m8n got into I'll
" place, lay down to sleep, and nwukc i
the middle Of the might. lie callc,
& screamed, h0wird win terror rushc
madly to and ir" in vain rll, rts to e,
cape. But no enc heard him. In th
= morning he was found cinging to tn
iron bars Of the gate with - dcsporal
u IL grip that 1t required II long time
l. dctnch his hands from them
lie was mad.
Since that time IA great brll has bee
suspended near the entrance ar
Ftgd,O.