Alfredo Salafia
Alfredo Salafia | |
|---|---|
Salafia in c. 1910 | |
| Born | November 7, 1869 |
| Died | January 31, 1933 (aged 63) Palermo |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation(s) | Embalmer and taxidermist |
Alfredo Salafia (November 7, 1869 – January 31, 1933) was a Sicilian embalmer and taxidermist of the 1900s.
In December 1920, he embalmed a little girl, Rosalia Lombardo, in Palermo, Sicily at her father's request. She currently lies in a glass topped, sealed coffin in Palermo's Capuchin friary catacombs (Catacombe dei Cappuccini), and is available for public viewing as one of the best preserved bodies there. The formula Salafia used to embalm her, found in his handwritten memoirs, involved injecting the body with a solution of formalin, zinc salts, alcohol, salicylic acid, and glycerin.