| Florence | Museo La Specola | Suggested by John: "The Specola museum in Florence, Italy is a most fascinating museum. It is a natural history museum and is laid out starting with insects and mollusks, then birds, fish, mammals (all stuffed, sometimes very weirdly) and ending with the most stunning wax anatomical models of humans and their parts. There is a book published by Taschen called: Encyclopaedia Anatomica. If you ever find yourself in Florence, I strongly advise you go there. It's near the Pitti Palace." |
| Palermo | Capuchins' Catacombs | In 1599,
Capuchin monks made a shocking discovery while exhuming bodies from the
catacombs of their monastery — many of the bodies had been naturally
mummified. Following this discovery, the monks decided to mummify one
of their own, and the Palermo townspeople soon joined in. Deceased members
from all social classes were mummified and placed in these catacombs until
the 1880s, when the practice of mummification was banned. But that didn't
stop the curious townspeople, as the last mummy was laid to rest here
in 1920. As a result of this "mummification trend," the catacombs
of the Capuchin Monastery have become one of the largest, and most eerie,
collections of mummified bodies in the world. Thanks to Carolyn for the suggestion. |
| Rome | Cemetery of the Capuchins | Chris wrote to recommend this unbelievably beautiful chapel which is decorated with the bones of Capuchin Monks. As described in the website linked to the left: "The crypt is located just under Santa Maria della Concezione, a church commissioned by Pope Urban XIII in 1626. The pope's brother, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, who was of the Capuchin order, in 1631 ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchin monks exhumed and transferred from the friary Via dei Lucchesi to the crypt. The crypt now contains the remains of 4,000 monks buried between 1500-1870, during which time the Papal States permitted burial in and under churches. The underground crypt is divided into five chapels lit only by dim natural light seeping in through cracks, and small fluorescent lamps which cast strange shadows." Definitely a must-see when in Rome! |
| San Gimignano | Torture Museum (Museo Criminale Medioevale) |
Alf provides an excellent pictorial exploration of this most tremendous Italian museum - which collects torture and execution equipment used throughout history. I happened to catch a travelling exhibition of only a few selections from this museum - and believe me, the wince-factor is HIGH! I can't wait to see this one... Located on Via di
Castello |
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ABANDONED
PLACES
DESOLATION: Photos of Abandoned Buildings |
 Wicked Words... |
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