Intriguing: 94-year-old mummified girl opens her eyes

Rosália Lombardo, a 2-year-old child, died of pneumonia in Palermo, Italy, in 1920, ie 94 years ago. His father was completely desolate and called Dr. Alfredo Salafia to embalm the child's body. The doctor was a renowned embalmer at the time, famous for studying mummification techniques in the pharaonic tombs of Egypt.

Not long ago, the corpse of Rosalia was found in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo. Of all the bodies found, the girl's was the only one that remained completely intact. All of this was believed to be due to the well-applied mummification techniques Dr. Salafia applied. But something more would be coming.

A camera programmed to record images hourly has been positioned to photograph the girl. Rosalia's eyes are opening and closing every day and puzzling people who often end up thinking it's a miracle and the girl would be a saint. But what was really going on? Why does the girl, even so long mummified, move her eyelids this way?

Science explains

Apparently there is nothing paranormal about this fact. Flashes from cameras recording images of the mummy cause a photodecomposition of the body, and this, along with the wobbling of moisture, causes Rosalia's eyes to open and close from time to time, causing this strange fact.

In addition, Rosalia's hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and all body hair have become completely blond, also due to moisture changes. If you look at the older photos, we found that Rosalia had very dark hair and they were lightening over time. There is nothing unusual about all this.

The mummification of Rosalia's body

Anthropologist Pombino Mascali was able to discover the formula used by Dr. Alfredo Salafia for embalming Rosalia's body. Everything was noted and kept in the possession of the girl's family. The formula contained formaldehyde, alcohol, salicylic acid, glycerin and zinc salts. All of this together resulted in a very powerful compound.

Formaldehyde kills bacteria, alcohol dehydrates the body, salicylic acid kills fungi, glycerin prevents dryness, and most importantly, zinc salts give the body rigidity. In addition, researchers have found through various tests that not only the exterior is intact, but also all the internal organs.

The girl's little body can be visited in Palermo, Italy. It is exposed in a small glass-lined coffin in a chapel on the tourist trail of the uncovered catacomb.