Skeletons, Mummies, and Tombs in Italy

While Italy may not be so big on Halloween celebrations, they do have some chilling sites. Skeletons and mummies are on display many places in Italy. You'll sometimes find a tomb with a skeleton or mummy in a church. Here are a few macabre destinations where you can visit the dead.

• Catacombs in Rome and Sicily: Italy's catacombs are fascinating burial places with mazes of underground tunnels that were used to bury thousands of bodies, some as long as 2,000 years ago.
• Chiesi dei Morti - Mummies Cemetery: The Church of the Dead, Chiesa dei Morti, in Urbania holds a display of mummies in a chapel now called the Mummies Cemetery, Cimitero delle mummie.
• Mummies of Ferentillo: Corpses buried below the Church of Santo Stefano in Ferentillo were naturally preserved. Some of the best of these mummies are on display in what is now the mummy museum in the bottom part of the church.
• Mummies in Italy - Where and Why: James Martin, Europe for Visitors, explains why there are mummies in Italy and where they can be seen.
• Etruscan Tombs in Tarquinia: Although they don't usually hold bodies any more, there are many elaborate tombs from the Etruscan age found in central Italy. Some of the best are in Tarquinia.