The Catacombs of the Capuchins in Palermo are burial catacombs located in Sicily, in which the remains of more than eight thousand people - the local elite and prominent citizens - rest in open form.
Capuchin catacombs in Palermo
Capuchin catacombs - this is one of the most famous exhibitions of mummies: skeletonized, mummified, embalmed bodies of the deceased lie, stand, hang, form compositions.
The Capuchin catacombs were considered by the locals as a cemetery, albeit a very peculiar one. Since burial here was a matter of prestige, many noble people sought to secure a place for themselves. Not only guests of the city come here, but also many of the current inhabitants of Palermo to visit their deceased ancestors.
The first buried here was Brother Silvestro of Gubbio (1599), and then the remains of several previously deceased monks were transferred here. At first, only monks were buried here, but later the Capuchin catacombs became a prestigious cemetery for clergy, noble and bourgeois families of Palermo.
As the number of buried bodies grew, the catacombs expanded - existing corridors increased and new ones broke through. As a result, the catacombs have acquired the form of a rectangle, in addition to which the Corridor of Priests adjoins.
In 1882, the Capuchin catacombs were officially declared closed for burial. Over the past three centuries, more than eight thousand people have been buried here. After the official closure in the catacombs, several more of the deceased were laid on exceptional petitions, including US Vice Consul Giovanni Paterniti (1911), who became the only US citizen buried here.
It will not be difficult to visit this place, since the catacombs are located within the city limits, however, outside the historic center. It will be convenient to walk from Piazza Independenza (Norman and Orleans palaces) along Corso Calatafimi two blocks and then turn down Via Pindemonta. This street ends with Piazza Cappuccini, where the monastery building with the Capuchin catacombs is located.
Address: Piazza Cappuccini 1
Working hours: 8: 30-13: 00, 14: 30-18: 00
Entrance ticket price: 1.50 EUR
It is also worth noting that the Capuchins, in imitation of the Palermitan catacombs, created similar crypts with mummified bodies in other cities and towns of Sicily. The Catacombs of the Capuchins in the town of Savoca (province of Messina) are quite famous, where about fifty mummies of the local nobility are kept.
