The Secret is Out!

If you’ve ever been to Palermo, Italy….or alternatively, been lucky enough to attend a mummy congress, you may recognise Rosalia Lombardo. Rosalia was two when she died of influenza in 1920, but remains one of the best preserved human bodies.

A recent study has discovered “THE SECRET FORMULA” that preserved young Rosalia. Turns out it was your basic cocktail of formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin. The concoction in conjunction with the dry catacombs in which the body was entombed would have provided an ideal atmosphere for mummification.

But…why is she still…like…human looking? Well, unlike the mummies in Egypt, the Andes, Canary Islands etc. she’s only almost 90 years old. And the Glycerin component of her death cocktail would have kept her body from drying out too much and shrivelling like a sultana.

However, most of the credit for Rosalia’s amazing condition goes to ZINC. Experts say that:
"[Zinc] gave her rigidity… You could take her out of the casket prop her up, and she would stand by herself."

So there you go folks, that’s another mystery to cross off the list! Booyah!