Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato

  

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A museum of mummies in the Mexican town of Guanajuato. Contrary to what you might expect, these are not ancient Maya mummies, but bodies exhumed in a naturally mummified state over the last 150 years or so (namely from a nearby cemetery).

 
The newest specimen dates back to only 1958, when a law was passed that put a stop to the practice of displaying dug-up bodies in this fashion – but the ones already on display were unaffected by this legislation and remain a major tourist attraction.

 
Some of the bodies are clothed, some are not, some died of natural causes, others a more sinister death. They also have "little angels", i.e. child mummies specially dressed up. Regarded as the most exceptional piece in the museum is the world's (allegedly) smallest mummy … a new-born baby mummified together with its mother, after both of them had died during the birth.

 
In addition to the mummies themselves, the museum also features background information about the processes of mummification and the artistic history around it. The museum was renovated and re-arranged as recently as 2007.

 
Together with the Catacombe dei Cappuccini in Palermo in Italy the museum of mummies of Guanajuato has to rank as one of the premier collections of dead on display in the world.

 
Opening times: daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
 
Admission: the regular fee is 55 Pesos (ca. 3 USD). Some concessions apply.
There's a small fee for parking too. 

 
Location: Municipal Pantheon Esplanade, Downtown, C.P. 36000, Guanajuato, in the south of Mexico.

  
Google maps locator:[21.0199,-101.2662]