> ...You know I never thought about it but I bet the Catholic Church > would frown on the removal of bodies. In any country in Europe. I don't know about that. In Italy, it has been the practice for many years to reuse graves. After 30 years if you are buried in the ground, and the town needs the grave, the town can reclaim it, and resell the rights to the grave. The grave is opened, the remains removed and placed in a silk bag. If there is still family in the area, the remains are returned to them. The family purchases an ossuary [stone box] for the remains, and then places them in a purchased vault or tomb. They do not embalm bodies in Italy; burials occur within 3 days of death, and I doubt that the coffins are air or water-proof. After 30 years in the ground, I'll bet the decomposition is pretty much complete. FYI - Italy, a country that is 99% Roman Catholic, has a tradition of separation of church and state since the 1861 reunification. In fact, until about 1929, the Italian government did not recognize church marriages. A couple had to marry in a civil ceremony regardless of whether or not they married in church. -- Maria