GC321TP The Mummies of Venzone (Traditional Cache) in Friuli–Venezia Giulia, Italy created by plutovsky

This cache has been archived.

kazuma: [english text follows]
Ciao collega geocacher,

Il proprietario non ha effettuato alcuna manutenzione sul cache da lunghissimo tempo, e non risulta essere un utente attivo. Inoltre il cache non risulta essere piu' presente.
Il cache viene archiviato.

Hi fellow geocacher,

The owner didn't take any maintenance action since long time and he/she is not an active user. In addition the cache has been reported missing.
The cache is archived.

Regards,
Kazuma, geocaching-italia.com
Groundspeak Volunteer Reviewer

GC321TP ▼

A cache by plutovsky Message this owner

Hidden : 8/13/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A Venzone, una splendida cittadina fortificata, potrai fare l'insolita esperienza di trovarti a pochi centimetri dalle sue famose mummie.

Nella Cripta della ex-Cappella di San Michele, posta di fronte al Duomo, potrai osservare cinque delle quasi quaranta mummie rinvenute a Venzone.

Le mummie, che addirittura Napoleone volle recarsi a vedere, vennero estratte nel XIX secolo. Alcune di queste vennero portate fuori Venzone come, per esempio, al Gabinetto universitario di Padova, al Museo di Vienna, ma anche a Parigi nella Chiesa degli Invalidi.

La prima mummia ritrovata, però, risale al 1647 quando con lo spostamento di un sarcofago nel Duomo di Venzone venne portata alla luce la mummia del "Gobbo", chiamata così non per l'evidente difetto fisico che sembrava caratterizzasse il corpo ritrovato, ma per la forma dello stesso causata da una errata sepoltura.

Il fenomeno della mummificazione a Venzone è naturalmente possibile grazie ad un fungo che vegeta nelle tombe del Duomo, una muffa parassita detta "Hipha Bombicina Pers", che riesce a disitratare il corpo nel tempo di un anno e rendere la pelle pergamenacea.
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In Venzone, a wonderful fortified town, you may find yourself a few centimetres from its famous mummies.

In the Crypt of the former Chapel of St. Michael, situated opposite the Cathedral, you will have the chance to see five of the nearly forty mummies found in Venzone.

Even Napoleon wanted to come and see these mummies, which where found in the 19th century. Some of them were taken out of Venzone, for example to the University Laboratory of Padua, to the Museum of Vienna and to the Church of the Invalides in Paris.

However, the first mummy was found in 1647 when, by moving a sarcophagus in the Cathedral of Venzone, the "Mummia del Gobbo" (Hunchbacked Mummy) was brought to light: it is called in this way not because of the evident physical defect that seemed to characterize the body, but due to its shape caused by wrong burial.

The phenomenon of mummification is naturally possible in Venzone thanks to a fungus that grows in the Cathedral graves, a parasitic mould called "Hipha Bombicina Pers", which manages to dehydrate a body in one year and make the skin pergameneous.

The Mummies of Venzone
Crypt of the former Chapel of St. Michael (next to the Cathedral)
33010 Venzone (UD)

Opening times
From April to September: every day from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
From October to March: every day from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. (visit link)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

zntargvp - oynpx

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)