The Cemetery and Chapel of San Giovanni Battista, also known as the ''Cimitero di Laorca'' is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church and cemetery in the neighborhood of Loarca in the town limits of

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label=Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

, region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, Italy. The cemetery is located in a grotto under a stone mountainside.

History

The site originally housed a series of Via Crucis chapels (1765), resembling those found in the Sacro Monti of Lombardy and Piedmont. An ossuary was added in 1649 to house the remains of those killed by the plague; after the first world war, it became a repository and memorial for those fallen in the conflict. The site was refurbished during the 19th and 20th centuries. The painter Luigi Tagliaferri restored the

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

. In 1985-1989, the painter Paolo Gerosa painted modern images for the chapel refurbished in a Neo-Romanesque style on the prior foundations. The grotto houses chapels dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes and St John the Baptist (latter called ''Chiesa ai Morti''). The latter chapel has a structure dating from 1289 erected to venerate a hermit named Giovanni who dwelt in the grotto in early medieval times. The interior of the main church has frescoes from 1578 and a stucco arch in the apse from 1648. The cemetery has

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

monuments dedicated to Falck (1922), Redaelli (1903-1908), and Bolis (1914).Comune of Lecco
entry on cemetery and church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laorca cemetery Lecco Roman Catholic churches in Lecco 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Cemeteries in Italy