December 6, 1920
Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Rosalia Lombardo dies of pneumonia a week before her 2nd birthday and leaves behind a well preserved body that is said to open its eyes
Rosalia’s father, so grief-stricken by her death, hired a notable embalmer to preserve the toddler’s body. Her body was placed in a glass coffin and interred in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, and was one of the last bodies to find rest there. She is world renowned for the state of her preservation, looking as though she is sleeping rather than dead for nearly a century, as well as the subject of a strange phenomena with the lighting in the catacombs. As the sun travels across the sky, shadows are cast upon Rosalia’s face making it appear as though she is blinking, albeit very slowly.
A video of a few time-lapse photos, demonstrating the opening of Rosalia’s eyes, can be seen here.
