Convento dei Cappuccini

Lonely Planet review

Despite its famous manuscript collection and the tomb of novelist Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in the adjoining cemetery, the Convento dei Cappuccini is best known for its altogether more macabre catacombs, where the mummified bodies of some 8000 Palermitans who died between the 17th and 19th centuries are on show.

Originally the preserve of monks, the catacombs were eventually opened to a select and moneyed few who made substantial donations of land or money to the monastery. For their pains, these lucky individuals were laid out 'to drain' - ugh - after death, before being washed with vinegar, and powdered with arsenic and milk of lime. They were then dressed in their Sunday best and propped up in their very own niche.

Earthly power, sex, religion and professional status are rigidly distinguished. Men and women occupy separate corridors, and within the women's area there is a first-class section for virgins. The most disconcerting sight is the near-perfectly preserved body of Rosalia Lombardo (just follow the signs for bambina or'baby girl'), who died at the tender age of two in 1920. Gory and perturbing, the catacombs are one of the city's premier tourist attractions.