Julia Buccola

Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery
Hillside Illinois


Julia Buccola
29 yrs of age

Julia Buccola Petta (1892-1921) was a housewife who became known following her death as The Italian Bride. She was the daughter of Filomena Buccola. She died at the age of 29 in 1921 while giving birth.

Following her death, Petta was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Hillside. Petta was buried in her wedding dress. A photo of Petta in her wedding dress was placed on her monument, which also features a statue of her based on this photo. Soon after Petta's death, her mother began experiencing dreams in which Petta was telling her that she was still alive.

Six years after Petta's death, Filomena secured permission to have the grave opened and her daughter exhumed. The coffin was found to have decomposed, but when it was opened Petta's body was still intact - her body had not decayed at all. Her mother took a picture of Petta in her casket, which was placed on the monument and is still there to this day. Why Petta's body had not decayed following burial has never been explained. Some have attributed Petta's condition upon being exhumed to her being incorruptible, while others have attributed the condition of her body to the type of soil found in the cemetery. In 1921 embalming chemicals had already been around for decades, so with a proper embalming and the body placed in an air-sealed coffin the corpse's organs will break down at a very slow pace. Observations of non-decayed bodies that have been deceased for years, even decades, is not uncommon. The exhumations of Abraham Lincoln, Solanus Casey and Eva Perón are a few of many famous examples of this.

Today Petta is among the more well known people buried at Mount Carmel, along with prior Bishops and Archbishops of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and organized crime figures such as Al Capone.

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