di Baucina, the count of Isnello, in 1939. The catacombs contain about 8,000 corpses and 1,252 mummies (as stated by last census made by EURAC in 2011) that line the walls. The halls are divided by category: men, women, virgins, children, priests, monks, and professionals. Some bodies are better preserved than others. Some are set in poses; for example, two children are sitting together in a rocking chair. The coffins were accessible to the families of the deceased so that on certain days the family, including the deceased, could join their hands in prayer. Famous people buried in the catacombs include: Filippo d'Austria, formerly Ayala, prince of Tunis and convert to Catholicism (1620) Giuseppe Grimau, president of the kingdom (1755) Vincenzo Natoli, judge (1770) Lorenzo Marabitti, sculptor (early 19th c.) Filippo Pennino, sculptor (1801) Giuseppe Velasco, painter (1827) Salvatore Manzella, surgeon (1835) Colonel Giulio Ascanio Enea, war committee member (1848) Giovanni Corrao, partisan (1863) Paolo Ragona, colonel of artillery (1863) Bishop Agostino Franco (1877), titular Bishop of Hermopolis Giovanni Paterniti, an American Vice-Consul (1911) Ernesto Salafia, fencing master (1914) Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa is sometimes said to be interred the catacombs, but he is buried in the cemetery next to them. Scientific research The Sicily Mummy Project was created in 2007 to study the mummies and to create profiles on those who were mummified. The project is led by anthropologist Dario Piombino-Mascali of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity in Palermo, and is backed by the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano The mummies are X-Rayed and CT scanned to collect information about them, along with other anthropological and paleopathological techniques to confirm their age and gender. Piombino-Mascali credits the program with re-opening discussion about death in Sicily; Forensic biologist Mark Benecke identified several insects that shed light on the mummification process. Tourism The catacombs are open to the public. Photography inside is officially prohibited, which prominent signs make clear to visitors. However, some bodies have been shown on film in Francesco Rosi's Cadaveri Eccellenti ("Illustrious Corpses"), and television programmes such as the Channel 4 series Coach Trip, BBC TV series The Human Body in 1998, Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe, Ghosthunting With Paul O'Grady and Friends on ITV2 in 2008 and The Learning Channel in 2000. Iron grills have been installed to prevent tourists tampering or posing with the corpses. Gallery See also Capuchin Crypt, in Rome Italy Capela