A cruise excursion worth taking

A few years ago one of the calls on my holiday itinerary was Sicily. I had never been to the island before but had heard of some nice places to visit thanks to a very close friend of mine who is in fact Sicilian.

Whilst looking through the excursions brochure I noticed one of the options was to visit the Capuchin Catacombs. Because my interest in this excursion would not pass I decided I would in fact book it and explore what it had to offer. Sounds morbid I know but you have to agree it sounds like a very interesting place to visit and is a break from the normal holiday trips.

When we arrived at the Catacombs it was interesting, you walked down a steep almost castle like corridor and at the bottom you were quite literally greeted by hundreds upon hundreds of skeletons. Some I may include were actually nearer body looking!

It was amazing! It smelt fusty and damp, you know that old smell you get when you visit an old manor house our castle, well this place smelt exactly like that. I was shocked at some of the bodies/skeletons I came to see. The most shocking of all was that of little Rosalia Lombardo who is also lovingly referred to as Sleeping Beauty. She died in 1920 and was embalmed using a method known to only one doctor and she really is a sight to see. I genuinely thought I was looking at a sleeping child, it was amazing but upsetting at the same time.

Now this excursion is not for the faint hearted but if you could manage it I would strongly recommend booking it if it is offered on your cruise.

To find out more simply Google capuchin catacombs and you can view images and read about the history.