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The Living Dead
Inside the Palermo Crypt
Marco Lanza
Hardbound with original dust jacket
144 pages
Publisher: Westzone
Date Published: March 1, 2001
Of all the wonderful sights on view in Sicily, surely one of the most unusual and
provocative is found in the hillside crypt above Palermo, the island's capital city.
Within these vast corridors beneath a cappuccine church are thousands of niches holding
mummified corpses. Because the ground was so rocky and resources scarce, it became
fashionable over hundreds of years to place one's loved ones in among the cool,
dry stone perches here.
Tourists now visit the remains of a multitude of clerics, nobility, and families of
local citizens dating from about the mid-16th century to the end of the practice
around a century ago. The denizens of this awesome and mysterious place have been
respectfully and beautifully photographed by the Florentine Lanza.
Lanza makes art out of the slowly rotting figures, focusing on the detail of skull and
bone and of the now-antique clothing that was stylish when these faithful were laid to
rest.
Facchi, a journalist and screenwriter who regularly contributes to Marie Claire and
Il Dario della Settimana, adds her darkly imaginative narrative essay on the history
of the customs and folklore surrounding this unusual celebration of death.
With its large format, the book begs to be displayed, but beware, the images can be
haunting (even gruesome) and as unforgettable as the place itself. For serious
photography and history collections.
69 color photographs. With text by Laura Facchi.
Condition: Very good condition.
Order by ITEM #BKS-12-10
PRICE: $214.95
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