Thanks to Salafia's embalming techniques, the body was well-preserved.
X-rays of the body show that all the organs are remarkably intact. Rosalia Lombardo's body is kept in a small
chapel at the end of the
catacomb's street and is encased in a glass covered
coffin, placed on a wooden pedestal. A 2009
National Geographic photograph of Rosalia Lombardo shows the mummy is beginning to show signs of
decomposition, most notably discoloration. Her body is starting to take on a yellow waxy skin texture. To address these issues, the mummy was moved to a drier spot in the catacombs, and her original coffin was placed in a
hermetically sealed glass enclosure with
nitrogen gas to prevent decay. The mummy remains one of the best preserved bodies in the catacombs. Capuchin catacombs curator Dario Piombino-Mascali discovered a handwritten manuscript written by Salafia, wherein he lists the ingredients used to mummify Rosalia. The embalming formula is described as "one part
glycerin, one part
formalin saturated with
zinc sulfate and
zinc chloride, and one part of an alcohol solution saturated with
salicylic acid", and was entered into the body through a single-point injection, most likely into the
femoral artery via a gravity injector. Researcher Rossella Lorenzi reported that the formalin was used to kill bacteria, the glycerin used to prevent
desiccation, and the salicylic acid used to eliminate any fungi within the flesh, with the purpose of the zinc salts being
petrifaction. In response to speculation about her moving eyelids, Piombino-Mascali stated that "It's an
optical illusion produced by the light that filters through the side windows, which during the day is subject to change ... [her eyes] are not completely closed, and indeed they have never been". ==References==