The Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno is an extensive

monumental cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located on a hillside in the district of Staglieno of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, famous for its

monumental sculpture The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for ...

. Covering an area of more than a square kilometre, it is one of the largest cemeteries in Europe.

History

The design of the cemetery of the City of Genoa dates back to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's ''Edict of Saint-Cloud'' from 1804, when he forbade burials in churches and towns. The original project was approved in 1835 by the City's architect

Carlo Barabino Carlo Barabino (February 11, 1768 – September 3, 1835) was a prominent Italian architect of the Neoclassic period, active mainly in his native Genoa. He was a pupil of Giuseppe Barbieri. He designed the original Teatro Carlo Felice Opera Hous ...

(1768–1835). However, he died the same year as a result of the cholera epidemic that struck the city and the project passed to his assistant and pupil (1798–1871). Part of the south-eastern hillside of Staglieno was acquired for the cemetery. The site of the Villa Vaccarezza was chosen as the most suitable, being both sparsely populated and close to the centre of the city. Work began in 1844 and it was opened on 2 January 1851. On that day there were four burials. Over time there were several extensions and the cemetery now includes sections for an English cemetery, a Protestant one and a Jewish one. At the centre of the site is a tall statue of Faith, sculpted by

Santo Varni Santo Varni (1807 in Genoa – 1885) was an Italian sculptor active mainly in Liguria. He began his training at the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, where he was a pupil of Giuseppe Gaggini. He moved to Florence, where he was a pupil of L ...

. Facing the statue, up a grand staircase, is a domed Pantheon (a copy of the

Pantheon in Rome The Pantheon (, ; la, Pantheum,Although the spelling ''Pantheon'' is standard in English, only ''Pantheum'' is found in classical Latin; see, for example, Pliny, '' Natural History'36.38 "Agrippas Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis". Se ...

) with a Doric portico flanked by two marble statues of the prophets

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...

and

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

. At the time Genoa was a major centre of learning within Italy and attracted reformists and an affluent

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

. Wishing to place long-lasting memorials to remember their work and moral accomplishments, they developed a tradition of funereal sculpture, particularly realistic works, to be placed with their tombs. Genova - Cimitero di Staglieno - Statua della Fede e Pantheon

Genova - Cimitero di Staglieno - Statua della Fede e Pantheon

Memorials

The cemetery includes the graves of: *

Nino Bixio Gerolamo "Nino" Bixio (, ; 2 October 1821 – 16 December 1873) was an Italian general, patriot and politician, one of the most prominent figures in the Italian unification. Life and career He was born Gerolamo Bixio in Genoa. While still a boy, ...

(1821-1873), general, patriot and politician *

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pro ...

(1940-1999), singer-songwriter * Constance Lloyd (1858-1898), wife of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

* Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), politician, journalist and activist * Michele Novaro (1818-1885), composer * Anna Maria Ortese (1914-1998), novelist * Fernanda Pivano (1917-2009), writer, translator and journalist * Ferruccio Parri (1890-1981), prime minister of Italy * Edoardo Sanguineti (1930-2010), poet Significant sculptors with work there include Leonardo Bistolfi,

Augusto Rivalta Augusto Rivalta (1835 or 1838 – April 14, 1925) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Rivalta was born in Alessandria, Italy, to Genoese parents. In 1859, he moved to Florence, but soon swept up in the patriotic events, he volunteered for the ...

Giulio Monteverde Giulio Monteverde (8 October 1837 – 3 October 1917) was an Italian naturalist sculptor and teacher. Biography Monteverde was born in Bistagno, Italy and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He later became a professor there.McKay, J ...

, ,

Edoardo Alfieri Edoardo Alfieri (1913 in Foggia, Italy – 1998 in Sanremo, Italy) was an Italian sculptor. Although he was born at Foggia in southern Italy, his family was of Piemontese origin and soon moved to Genoa, where he spent his childhood. He stud ...

and Vittorio Lavezzari. The strong British influence in the city of Genoa in the late 19th century is reflected in the separate British Cemetery at Staglieno which contains the graves of British and Commonwealth servicemen from both the First and Second World Wars. There are 230 from the First, (during which period there were 3 British military hospitals in the area) and 122 from the Second. The latter, buried in a plot designed by architect Louis de Soissons, were mainly garrison burials or reburials concentrated from other cemeteries.

Cultural references

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

briefly praises the cemetery in his 1869 book '' Innocents Abroad'', and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

visited the cemetery frequently in the 1880s with his friend Paul Ree and had many long philosophical discussions as they strolled through the funereal colonnades. Photographs of two tombs in the cemetery are featured on the covers of records by the English band Joy Division. The

Appiani family The Appiani (also Appiano or d'Appiano) were an Italian noble family, originally from Al Piano or Appiano, a now disappeared toponym identified with the modern La Pieve in the ''comune'' of Ponsacco. They held the principality of Piombino from t ...

tomb, sculpted by Demetrio Paernio circa 1910, was used on the cover of the album ''Closer''. A grieving angel on the Ribaudo family tomb, sculpted by Onorato Toso also circa 1910, was used as an alternate cover for the 12" version of the single " Love Will Tear Us Apart". Both photographs were taken by

Bernard Pierre Wolff Bernard Pierre Wolff (1930 – 28 January 1985) was a French-born American photographer. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked as an art director, and from the 1970s worked as a photographer travelling and taking photographs of people. He made street ...

in 1978. Staglieno was the subject of a 2003 book of photographs by Lee Friedlander. In that same year, a smaller selection of Friedlander's Staglieno photographs were published by the LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, Columbia University, in a limited edition set of photogravures. The portfolio case of the project was bound in red coffin velvet to enhance the memorial effect of the project. According to ''The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' by Charles Helfenstein, the original opening for ''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service On Her Majesty's Secret Service may refer to: * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (novel), a 1963 novel by Ian Fleming * ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the novel ** ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (sou ...

'' in early scripts was supposed to have taken place at the Staglieno Cemetery. The plot involved Blofeld faking his own death and Bond visiting the Blofeld crypt at the Staglieno Cemetery to ensure he is dead.''The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' by Charles Helfenstein, page 22, Spies LLC (December 18, 2009)

References

External links

*
Flickr group of Staglieno Cemetery

Guided visits 2016 at Staglieno

Images at stonecarver.com

American Friends of Italian Monumental Sculpture sponsors restoration at Staglieno

Sculptures of Vittorio Lavezzari in Staglieno Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staglieno Cemetery art Cemeteries in Italy Buildings and structures in Genoa Tourist attractions in Genoa Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Italy

History

Memorials

Cultural references

See also

References

External links