Capuchins' Catacombs in Palermo I.5 - Dipping the bodies

A second method used was that of dipping the bodies in arsenic or lime. This was done especially during periods of epidemics.

The most common method used was that of dehydration by placing the bodies in cells, situated along the passageways. These cells were called "strainers".The bodies were dried in the cells for about eight months then taken out and washed in vinegar before being exposed to the fresh air. They were dressed and put in niches, coffins, or on the walls, as instructed by the person while still alive or by relatives after death.

Some of the corpses have long ago lost their flesh and are skeletons. Others have mummified flesh, hair and even eyes! All are dressed in clothes from the period in which they lived. One such example is of Colonel Enea DiGiuliano. He is still wearing his 1800's French Bourbon uniform.