On Rosalia Lombardo's causes of death and the method used by Alfredo Salafia to embalm her

Abstract

This paper describes research on Rosalia Lombardo’s causes of death and on the method and chemicals used to embalm her. The mummy rests in the Cappuccini Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily. Rosalia died at the age of two in 1920 and was embalmed by Alfredo Salafia using a secret technique and par- ticular mixture of chemicals. Until recently, no laboratory analysis had been performed on this mummy, and as a consequence, many doubts remain about the chemicals used by Salafía, although a manuscript by the embalmer had been discovered. This paper considers the numerous questions that still remain open.