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 sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

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 ...

, famous for its monumental sculpture. 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 (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 ...

. Facing the statue, up a grand staircase, is a domed Pantheon (a copy of the Pantheon in Rome) with a Doric portico flanked by two marble statues of the

prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

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 Jewi ...

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 Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can e ...

and an affluent bourgeoisie. 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 pr ...

(1940-1999), singer-songwriter *

Constance Lloyd Constance Mary Wilde (née Lloyd; 2 January 1858 – 7 April 1898) was an Irish author. She was the wife of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and the mother of their two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. Early life and marriage The daughter of Horace Lloy ...

(1858-1898), wife of Oscar Wilde *

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

(1805-1872), politician, journalist and activist *

Michele Novaro Michele Novaro (; 23 December 1818 – 20 October 1885) was an Italian composer. Novaro was born on 23 December 1818 in Genoa, where he studied composition and singing. Novaro is mostly known as the composer of the music of the Italian nati ...

(1818-1885), composer *

Anna Maria Ortese Anna Maria Ortese (; June 13, 1914 – March 9, 1998) was an Italian author of novels, short stories, poetry, and travel writing. Born in Rome, she grew up between southern Italy and Tripoli, with her formal education ending at age thirteen ...

(1914-1998), novelist *

Fernanda Pivano Fernanda Pivano (18 July 1917 – 18 August 2009) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and critic. Early life Pivano was born in Genoa in 1917. When she was a teenager she moved with her family to Turin where she attended the Massimo D ...

(1917-2009), writer, translator and journalist *

Ferruccio Parri Ferruccio Parri (; Pinerolo, 19 January 1890 – Rome, 8 December 1981) was an Italian partisan and anti-fascist politician who served as the 29th Prime Minister of Italy, and the first to be appointed after the end of World War II. During the w ...

(1890-1981), prime minister of Italy *

Edoardo Sanguineti Edoardo Sanguineti (9 December 1930 – 18 May 2010) was a Genoese poet, writer and academic, universally considered one of the major Italian authors of the second half of the twentieth century. Biography During the 1960s he was a leader of th ...

(1930-2010), poet Significant sculptors with work there include

Leonardo Bistolfi Leonardo Bistolfi (14 March 1859 – 2 September 1933) was an Italian sculptor and an important exponent of Italian Symbolism. Biography Bistolfi was born in Casale Monferrato in Piedmont, north-west Italy, to Giovanni Bistolfi, a sculptor in ...

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, ,

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 stu ...

and

Vittorio Lavezzari Vittorio Lavezzari (1864–1938) was an Italian sculptor from the Art Nouveau period, specializing in Funerary art, funerary sculpture. His sculptures can mostly be seen in Genoa in the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno. Biography Born in Ge ...

. 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 Louis Emanuel Jean Guy de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons CVO RA FRIBA (1890–1962) was the younger son of Charles de Savoie-Carignan , Count de Soissons ( with claimed descent, through an illegitimate son, from Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prin ...

, were mainly garrison burials or reburials concentrated from other cemeteries.

Cultural references

Mark Twain briefly praises the cemetery in his 1869 book ''

Innocents Abroad ''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress'' is a travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel ''Quaker City'' ...

'', 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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

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 Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

. 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 ...

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 "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the m ...

". Both photographs were taken by Bernard Pierre Wolff in 1978. Staglieno was the subject of a 2003 book of photographs by

Lee Friedlander Lee Friedlander (born July 14, 1934) is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban "social landscape," with many of his photographs including fragm ...

. 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'' 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