These Catacombs In Sicily May Be One Of The Scariest Places In The World
Originally the catacombs started as a place to mummify Capuchin monks where after a year long draining and drying process, brothers could pray with the one they lost, instead of for them. | Jon Whittle
ByIslands StaffOct. 31, 2012
Behold, the Capuchin Monk Catacombs where it's said as many as 8,000 corpses hang on the wall or in glass caskets on display for the world to see — fully clothed. Take a look, and try not to have nightmares. (I've added some beautiful photos of Sicily to the end so you can sleep tonight.)
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— Jon Whittle
Eventually it became known around Sicily and Italy at large that people could be preserved...for a price...and the monks set up a method of 'donation' wherein an annual payment assured your loved one would be mummified and propped up into a prominent niche for all to see. | Jon WhittleBut if you fell short on your payment, the loved one was placed aside in a less visible position. | Jon WhittleEventually the man who engineered this process died without fully passing on his knowledge for the technique. (Thank goodness.) | Jon WhittleBut the bodies endure, decorated in tattered clothing from their era be they a priest, virgin, man, woman, or child. | Jon WhittleBelieve it or not, it's mildly disturbing to walk around in there, especially in the children's room. Oh and before you ask... yes... it's illegal to photograph in there. (Oops.) | Jon WhittleAnd now on to the Sicily that belongs in your dreams instead of your nightmares... | Jon WhittleTemple of Segesta, a perfectly preserved Greek Doric Temple with a theater and other ruins up the side of another hill. | Jon WhittleCastello de Venere | Jon WhittleZingara Nature Reserve. | Jon WhittleJon WhittleJon WhittleCastello de Venere | Jon WhittleView of Trapani from Above | Jon Whittle
