Editing Mummy (section)

==== Italy ====
[[File:Monks' Corridor.jpg|thumb|right|Mummies in the Friars' Corridor of the [[Catacombe dei Cappuccini]].]]
The varied geography and climatology of Italy has led to many cases of spontaneous mummification.{{sfn|Aufderheide|2003|p=193}} Italian mummies display the same diversity, with a conglomeration of natural and intentional mummification spread across many centuries and cultures.

The oldest natural mummy in Europe was discovered in 1991 in the [[Ötztal Alps]] on the Austrian-Italian border. Nicknamed [[Ötzi]], the mummy is a 5,300-year-old male believed to be a member of the [[Tamins-Carasso-Isera]] cultural group of [[South Tyrol]].<ref name=Owen>{{cite magazine |last=Owen |first=James |title=5 Surprising Facts About Otzi the Iceman |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016214702/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2013 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=11 November 2013 |date=16 October 2013}}</ref><ref name=OtziCulture>{{cite web|title=Which cultural group did Ötzi belong to?|url=http://www.iceman.it/en/node/295|publisher=South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology|access-date=11 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111110719/http://www.iceman.it/en/node/295|archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref> Despite his age, a recent DNA study conducted by [[Walther Parson]] of [[Innsbruck Medical University]] revealed Ötzi has 19 living genetic relatives.<ref name=Owen />

The [[Catacombe dei Cappuccini|Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo]] were built in the 16th century by the friars of Palermo's Capuchin monastery. Originally intended to hold the deliberately mummified remains of dead friars, interment in the catacombs became a status symbol for the local population in the following centuries. Burials continued until the 1920s, with one of the final burials being that of [[Rosalia Lombardo]]. In all, the catacombs host nearly 8000 mummies.

The most recent discovery of mummies in Italy came in 2010, when sixty mummified human remains were found in the [[crypt]] of the Conversion of St Paul church in Roccapelago di [[Pievepelago]], Italy. Built in the 15th century as a cannon hold and later converted in the 16th century, the crypt had been sealed once it had reached capacity, leaving the bodies to be protected and preserved. The crypt was reopened during restoration work on the church, revealing the diverse array of mummies inside. The bodies were quickly moved to a museum for further study.<ref name=Huddersfield>{{cite web|title=Dr Stefano Vanin's forensic expertise is used to learn lessons from the extraordinary Mummies of Roccapelago|url=http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/aaarg/projects/the-mummies-of-roccapelago/|publisher=University of Huddersfield|access-date=11 November 2013|date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111205/http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/aaarg/projects/the-mummies-of-roccapelago/|archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref>