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The mummified body of a two-year-old girl who allegedly blinks at tourists has been hailed as the "world's most beautiful mummy".
Rosalia Lombardo died of pneumonia a week shy of her second birthday on December 2, 1920, and her body was preserved and displayed at the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in northern Sicily.
Now, more than 100 years later, the youngster's body is so well-preserved that thousands of tourists flock to see her every year – with some claiming the 'girl in the glass coffin' blinked at them.
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While the theory that little Rosalia can blink has been completely debunked and put down to a trick of the light, scientists have been called in to try and shed light on the mystery surrounding the child mummy.
The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo holds well over 8,000 bodies, including 163 children, and is the largest collection of mummies in Europe. While many have now become skeletonised, the bodies of some children are so well-preserved they have been described as looking as if they are sleeping.
It's thought that the Rosalia's mummified body appears so lifelike because of the way her body was embalmed by father Alfredo Salafia, who used products like zinc, acid and alcohol to preserve the skin.
Rosalia's blonde hair and pale skin are still visible and rigorous testing and analysis have revealed that her organs were still intact and her brain had only shrunk to 50% of its original size. While her blankets haven't been removed out of respect, X-rays show that her arms and legs remain intact.
It's believed Rosalia's wealthy, grief-stricken father chose to have her mummified at the site because he couldn't let her go.
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Heading up the project is Dr Kirsty Squires of Staffordshire University, who told the Guardian: "We are going in January to carry out our fieldwork.
"We will take a portable X-ray unit and take hundreds of images of the children from different angles.
"We are hoping to better understand their development, health and identity, comparing the biological findings with the more cultural kind of things: the way the individuals have been mummified and the clothes they are wearing as well."
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