Palermo's Crypt of the Mummies

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Arnaldo Teodorani
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
Business inquiries to [e-mail]

[@geographicstravel]

Try Dashlane Premium free on your first device: www.dashlane.com/geographics. Use the coupon code ‘geographics’ to get 10% off Dashlane Premium.

[@dillonrose2089]

SIMON !!!!! when you gonna gimme a shout out bro ? i been an og since day 1 ESPECIALLY ON BUSINESS BLAZE n TOPTENZ, not to mention your countless other INFORMATIVE and sometimes hilarious other channels .. i like every vid and im gonna keep commenting a similar message till i hear my shout out at the end of the video.. cause yes I WATCH TILL THE VERY END!!!

[@daneandrews4920]

Could you do a geographics on the Suzhou River in Shanghai? It’s been the site of battles, an industrial boom and decline, has an artist community, was a very polluted river and a successful clean up of the pollution.

[@sebastiansandhu4695]

Video request - Devil's island

[@tjthrash0143]

Could have used Dashlane for the Today I Found Out channel eh Simon....

[@michael835]

So should I cancel Nord vpn then?

[@otmalum]

“Right at the high-note of his fiddle solo.” 😂

[@drew-shourd]

I would like to know who wrote that line....brilliant 4 sure...Simon, can you tell us? Thanx!

[@arnaldoteodorani277]

Drew Shourd Hello Drew, I am afraid that would be me ... thanks for the compliment, glad you enjoyed the video! I spent an inordinate amount of time coming up with euphemisms and that one made the final cut.

[@888johnmac]

@@arnaldoteodorani277 .. well done sir

[@nont18411]

What a legend🤣🤣🤣

[@eljanrimsa5843]

Sicily is just one island, but somehow every imaginable thing exists somewhere on it.

[@garymaidman625]

Agreed, we spent 5 days there and it wasn't nearly enough.

[@pamelamays4186]

Fiddle solo. Brings a new meaning to the phrase, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned."

[@andyginterblues2961]

Oh hell. When I was a child of maybe eleven or twelve, I had a recurring dream, in which I was standing in a well- lit underground tunnel, looking at a wall that was lined with human skeletons, the skeletons weren't dressed, but they were standing upright, possibly fastened to the tunnel's wall, side by side, a few feet apart from each other, like they were possibly specimens at a medical school. The row of skeletons stretched past my field of vision on both sides, there were seemingly hundreds of them in the tunnel. As I watched, two men dressed in lab coats came walking slowly down the corridor, pausing at each skeleton, the shorter man held a clipboard, the two men seemed to be taking notes about every skeleton in the row, one at a time. In the last of these dreams, I can't recall exactly, possibly the two men stopped and looked directly at me- I realized that I myself was a skeleton, hanging amongst another row of skeletons, on the opposite wall of the tunnel. I have no idea where I may have gotten that image from as a child, I don't recall seeing photos of the catacombs in any of my schoolbooks, my family had never traveled to Palermo, etc., but when I saw the row of dressed mummies in the first few minutes of this video, a chill ran up my spine, it seemed so familiar!

[@Runaway991]

If you believe in reincarnation, that could have been your past life

[@RobertaAvola]

I was there a couple years ago. Had all sort of feelings, fear and panic at first, and then a sense of peace in the end. I got comfortable after an hour or so, looking at those corpses.. thinking that they where breathing and walking just like me, and that I will inevitably be like them… it just made me look at my life from a new perspective.

[@madamvaudelune3298]

Remember when they died, they died believing that death was the door to eternal joy. They believed that they would see Mama, Papa, lost babies and siblings. If nothing else, they are at peace in a place with no pain or loneliness or poverty or fear.

[@EMurph42]

You got me again Simon. I can’t resist your videos. This channel is EXCEPTIONAL! Wonderfully well written, beautifully delivered & excellent editing. This channel is top shelf!!

[@PGar58]

Erin Murphy and THAT is why it’s called SimonTube. 😎

[@YeeSoest]

The final question is: How much tissue has to be on there to qualify as a mummy, not a skeleton? I mean some of these look merely like dressed up skeletons, don't they?

[@ofthecaribbean]

Near the beginning of the video, he did say that there were some corpses

[@Aconitum_napellus]

Mummification is more of a process or a state of suspended decomposition through desiccation, so it's more accurate to talk about mummified corpses than simply 'mummies'. Basically any amount of mummified skin/flesh/organs and you've potentially got a mummy. There is also a distinction between natural mummies and those deliberately preserved using chemicals and techniques.

[@Mark-im6pm]

Chicken thighs

[@YeeSoest]

@@Aconitum_napellus your name tells me you know your stuff

[@anactualotter6216]

I think it works the same way as determining the incorruptibility of saints. You would think they're not supposed to rot at all, but if they manage to just find a chunk of some dude's tongue that had been classified or something it still counts.

[@travispastrami4469]

I regret eating jerky while I watched this

[@gettfoffmynews3315]

😆

[@nathanlong8295]

Well you are what you eat.

[@quoththeraven3985]

What kind of jerky?

[@anarchyantz1564]

Try some biltong instead.

[@cattibingo]

People jerky?

[@UncleFester84]

I can hear my D&D necromancer rubbing his hands from here...

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

RIIIISE MY CHILDREN. RIIIIIISE

[@zufalllx]

Sorry, that was me

[@emmikay7387]

Excuse you, the correct term is 'late-stage doctor', thank you very much

[@EloquentTroll]

"Help me avenge my murdered brother" Cleric: "You have my mace" Fighter: "and my sword" Necromancer: "and your brother!"

[@NardBasket]

"innocence withdrawn in fear," "silent scream.." I detect a Slayer fan!

[@mattasticmattattack8546]

4000 friar's skulls , thats pretty metal of them 😁👍

[@yashvirsinghdalal]

"People were weird in the past." People in the past: Right back at you.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - Silent scream 4:35 - Chapter 2 - Prime real estate 9:05 - Mid roll ads 10:20 - Chapter 3 - The gentle art of making mummies 12:45 - Chapter 4 - Ghosts of desires past 16:25 - Chapter 5 - The age of discovery 20:00 - Chapter 6 - Unstable future

[@Dekko-chan]

*first picture of mummy appears* Me: “well there goes my night sleep”

[@lafkalaf6374]

I've visited these catacumbs, it was very chilling. I have visited several catacumbs, including Paris', but none quite as this one.

[@cuttwice3905]

Monks live in Monasteries. Nuns live in Convents. 3:05 There is a technical term for the open mouth of desiccated/preserved corpses: Mummy Gape. It is normal for human bodies to do that post mortem.

[@garymaidman625]

Nuns also live in Abbeys, for that matter, so do monks.

[@harpsw3390]

Though convent is technically correct, monastery is the prefered name of conclaves of monastic brothers, convent is usually saved for conclaves of sisters.

[@agingerbeard]

Everything you talk about is instantly more interesting, thanks for all the content during quarantine stay well!!

[@Cry.For.Ukraine]

Awesome video Simon. Now I'm going to have to search youtube for more in depth information. Your videos always peak my interest in learning more! Thank you for such good content. I look forward to your next one!

[@drew-shourd]

Great video, big thanks to Arnaldo, Jennifer, Shell and Simon.

[@stacykorinek3169]

This was a great episode!!

[@corywilkins5737]

I think on TopTenz, Simon , you should do a top ten on your favorite topics you have covered between all the channels. Also a top ten on your less then favorable topics that were covered.

[@ewestner]

Least favorite is baseball.

[@quinnzykir]

Gone to the chapel and I’m. Gonna get BURIED

[@charliemanson4808]

Ahhh Simon pops up just as Corona craziness was setting on! Stay safe out there everyone. Remember, 2 metres distance preserves our existence Charlie 🇬🇧

[@shebbs1]

Just remember to keep one kangaroo-length from everyone else.

[@camouflage7226]

Great video, as always.

[@huangec]

I've been there, and In spite of the initial apprehension at the perceived creepiness I have to say that at the end of the visit I felt a sense of calm instead. Somehow, I feel the place puts things into perspective, that death is really more a celebration of life than something to be feared and avoided. I highly recommend it.

[@SLorraineE]

Good thing about quarantine - I get to catch up on all the Simon videos I’ve not seen yet!

[@garymaidman625]

When I was in Palermo, we wanted to go to Catacombs, but they were closed for lunch. Kinda sad we didn't get to see this site, but glad because we got to see others that we wouldn't necessarily have gone to, like the amazing Arab-Norman church called San Giovanni degli Erimiti. Well worth going to.

[@holdadoor722]

I cannot get enough! I was late to work watching these videos into the night and overslept

[@linkin0983]

16:06 I shouldn't laugh at this, but come on...with your commentary I couldn't contain it 😂

[@theconqueringram5295]

I have always been interested in burial sites such as catacombs. I remember reading an article of young Rosalia Lombardo and I was curious about how she was embalmed since the article didn't explain the secret but I am glad that this video did.

[@JohnSmith-le6md]

Very good. Thankxx

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

Finally the place I've been fascinated by ever since discovering it

[@glutinousmaximus]

... reminds me of my mother-in-law's collection of Milkmen...

[@thatman8562]

Your mother-in-law collects grocery store restocking robots?

[@Christopher-N]

I, too, have noticed Pythonisms subtly sewn about the video.

[@davidstewart5811]

I truly love your imaginative wit

[@lagbolt]

Thank you, very interesting!

[@aidanc1502]

That was the smoothest transition into an ad I've ever seen

[@LostSleepFoundSheep]

I went to the Capuchin Ossuary in Rome mentioned at the beginning. It was fascinating! Thank you for this video :)

[@georgiancrossroads]

The most haunted place I've ever been. You don't laugh down here, you come face to face with death... your own.

[@morehumanity]

Hey great channel keep it up

[@jakec2295]

CATACOOM

[@Nugzz187]

Love this pal both channels... can I ask?did you do one on the catacombs in Paris? If so can’t find it. Thanks for the content! It’s brilliant stuff.

[@Ruby321123]

I don't find the past that strange. People today do a lot of stupid things too, & what we leave behind probably won't be half as cool as what they did.

[@schnaufer5181]

Hi Simon, love geographics

[@patriciaangeles4816]

I think mummies are fascinating- Thanks for sharing

[@BillHutchensFilms]

I was there 20 years ago, and it's a fascinating and slightly unsettling place. Well worth a visit.

[@wolftown0387]

Perfect transition

[@shb4200]

Simon, bro, fix your stash! Lol

[@shb4200]

Need a pocket comb lol

[@doranconall9995]

that was a nice transition

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@mattasticmattattack8546]

Whistler could read Dr. Seuss and it would up in sales.

[@stevebrown8163]

Thank you.

[@TheSeW18]

I went there last year, it's quite surreal

[@genebrugnoni2784]

That was great.

[@monicarachea]

You should do one on Poveglia Island in Italy! I need to explain the history to a friend. I need a Simon Whistler video. 😂

[@kennethmc2601]

I visited a few weeks ago. A few from our group refused to go in. I felt completely at peace in there. It's like going to a cemetery, except it's extremely personal. People that died hundreds of years ago just standing there in front of you. I'm from the US, and we just arent used to seeing things that old. If you park right in front of the place, theres a guy that will try to scam you out of some money to park there.

[@mr.iforgot3062]

That was very interesting.

[@23kashby]

Those eyes were totally the ghost of Clippy over Simon's shoulder 😂

[@zmanjace1364]

Well this didnt help my existential dread at all...

[@jacobbeaupre3940]

Shut up

[@sebastiansandhu4695]

It'll buff out

[@grandthanatos]

Please do a video on the Grand Guignol theater.

[@Greye13]

Absolutely fascinating place. To say that people were really strange back then is an enormous understatement, lol. The little girl at the end is quite pretty. It made me think of Snow White in her glass casket and when her eyes 'opened', I had to wonder if she was just sleeping. Not just a little eerie seeing that and not sure I believe that mans' explanation for the phenomenon. There are some things we will never know or understand. Thanks for the excellent video. Stay safe.

[@JkUnderConstruction]

Mummy 1: Oh no I'm dead :( Mummy 2: first time?

[@SandroAndres]

This is a very macabre episode, but you present it respectfully.

[@gawaineross4656]

This is such a weird and amusing entry!

[@guydavis8521]

Is your toptenz yours again?

[@NicoBabyman1]

2:03 “FOR THE EMPEROR!”

[@Ericotheriault]

Ive spent more time with Simon Whistler than anyone else during this pandemic

[@Babarudra]

How about a Geographics on Hart Island in New York? I'm surprised how few people knew about this place and its history.

[@CORPORAL-dn7nn]

Please do a video on Lt General Lewis B “Chesty” Puller USMC

[@jeeperspeepers8323]

0341 CORPORAL Yeah, because he’s dead too.

[@jakeharris1357]

G'night Chesty! Wherever you are!

[@brianbishop4753]

I thought he did one on one of his channels?

[@gracegalifaro3387]

wait omg i've been there. i did a year abroad in italy and we took a school trip to sicily and my friends and i decided to go there as part of our language & culture projects. it was rly cool

[@Contessa6363]

Palermo is beautiful Sicilian here❤

[@tomharris9570]

Another place this channel has inspired me to visit. Lol. Thank you Simon and Crew...you guys are really making this Quarantine bearable with the constant content. Top notch work.

[@EMurph42]

Tom Harris isn’t he such a blessing? I haven’t binged this hard since before I went to rehab.

[@tomharris9570]

@@EMurph42 He really is! I'm with you...I haven't binged this much content in ages.

[@lindsyfish6704]

Thank you for giving Paul Koudounaris some love! That man is a legend in the death world.

[@robinhumphrey2692]

Creepy. I loved it!.

[@hovojefe]

Hey Simon has your channel Top 10's been hacked or something?

[@ericwright8592]

I was just in Palermo in February... At the cathedral of Palermo no less, how did I miss this??

[@Il_Randagio]

I'm from Palermo; the local authority is usually negligent with tourist signposting: this makes difficult to orientate and inform for cultural and artistic site.

[@brana988]

Mafia bosses from Corleone might be an interesting video to watch, so a part of Geographics or Biographics channel.

[@emilrogengellschwaner3555]

I've been there and it's super creepy. The girl mummy especially

[@MPLSprintmaking]

There’s a lot of SLAYER quotations being used in this one.

[@arnaldoteodorani277]

Djvel Horjns And from another band too ... it’s in one of the section titles ...

[@fairytail4lifenalu86]

I've been there, fascinating place

[@Succubus2Angel]

If you find this interesting, Simon, and other message writers, there's a great channel on KZbin called AskAMortician. Caitlin Dougherty is a funeral director of her own company, and is also a writer and KZbinr. She covered Palermo's mummies when she went around the world learning about the lesser known death rites and cultures. Give her a look see, as she has such as sharp a wit and humour as our host here ^_^

[@helgaformo2054]

My Day: Vomit Covered Feces Simon: "Cata-cooms." My Day: *Stone Cold Steve Austin Theme Plays*

[@sisterhyde7952]

I went there for my honeymoon and I spent all my time there. The Cappuccin monk at the entrance didn't even bother with me anymore like I was part of the setting. 😂

[@sisterhyde7952]

I'd love that... People thought it was a very odd choice for a honeymoon but I wanted to see this place ever since my literature teacher talked about it back in high school. I also learned that the mafia used to gather there for their secret meetings. There's a whole book about it but unfortunately no English translation. Rosalia didn't have that huge metal and glass cover at the time and you could come really close. It's impressive, she looks like she is just asleep.

[@MrMcGreed]

15:33 - is that Clippy, back from the dead?

[@brianprovorse7103]

I lived in Sicily for 1.5 years while stationed there with the U.S. Navy. I had a chance to visit the Catacombs and that was one of the coolest places I had ever been. Wish I could go back, but I don't see that happening. Sicily as a whole is just an amazing place to be. It is a dump, but that is part of what makes the experience.

[@michaelhowell2326]

Hey, Geographics, will you please, please, pa-lease do a video on Lhasa and the Potola Palace. Please!

[@todddougherty9492]

Transition into sponsor read... flawless as usual. Where’s your Master Class Simon? My bad, wrong sponsor.

[@Desperado070]

Ah so instead of worrying about passwords I have to worry about dashlane using me VISA. What a great idea!

[@wizkidgamer9942]

Does anyone know what music he's using?

[@jayvee1947]

I first saw the catacombs in the 1962 movie Mondo Cane.

[@the1flym459]

I can't help but think of capuchin monkeys in little robes whenever you talk about Capuchin Friars

[@Urmum3469]

Can you do lake george, New York. It's near my home and it's been in the French and Indian war and revolutionary war. I think it has some pretty cool history and would make a good video.

[@mcgoo721]

I have an inexplicable urge to see this. I vaguely remember visiting crypts in Germany as a little kid but don’t remember much being displayed. Just a lot of cement and plaques.

[@nijimagikku]

Please Geographics do the history of Sicily as a whole?

[@garymaidman625]

The devil went down to Palermo, he was looking for a soul to steal.

[@oneringlotr]

This video is amazing, and the writing is fantastic as usual! Please make more videos on mummies.

[@garymaidman625]

Why was the Ancient Egyptian boy confused? Because his daddy was a mummy.

[@Corn-y3u]

Seeing you wearing the same outfit as a business blaze video makes me wonder how you manage to switch from silly to serious so easily

[@ajf2958]

hey could you do a biographics video on Stephen Fry please

[@rionthemagnificent2971]

Build a catacombs near street level in Palermo, Italy Capuchin Mummies: Its free real estate.

[@darthgogo3246]

Simón and team. Now do one on the following: Museum of the Mummies of Guanajuato Museum in Guanajuato, Mexico Thanks.