SHIFTING DETERMINANTS ON DEAD BODIES: THE CRYPT OF THE MUMMIES OF PIRAINO

Giovanni Scolarici was a Greek Catholic priest from the village of Piraino, Sicily. He was killed during a Saracen raid in 1544. He soon became the object of a local cult and his body a site of religious veneration. In 1771, his remains were moved to a new burial place in the same church, so that the proximity to his bones could have a positive effect on other bodies. However, those other bodies belonged to priests who had been mummified and placed in a crypt of that church. Today, the remains of those priests cannot be moved; any decision relating to them is subject to strict controls. This article looks at the way in which, the interests determining these controls have shifted from the beatification process to scientific and economic needs over the centuries. The discussion explores contemporary attitudes on death and dying and investigates the use of dead bodies in the context of socio-political and cultural changes.