It may seem surprising, but in many large cities excursion programs often include visits to cemeteries. Quiet corners are turning into real open-air museums, where there are no sinister fences and iron fences.
For Europeans, necropolises are cozy places where the boundaries between the worlds are erased. Here you want not only to sit in silence, but also to take a walk, looking at unusual monuments.
Necropolis with history
The Staglieno cemetery, located on the outskirts of Genoa, is one of the most beautiful in the world. Known for its amazing sculptures, it is considered the city's main architectural landmark.
At the beginning of the 19th century, by order of Napoleon, in each conquered city, cemeteries were transferred outside. This was done for hygienic reasons. However, historiansargue that Bonaparte was worried not only about the sanitary well-being of the city. He wanted to avoid discrimination and ordered that all graves be the same. And only a special commission would determine whether the deceased deserves a luxurious monument.
Corner of Eternal Peace
In 1804, the most famous architects of Genoa, which was a major cultural center of Italy, developed a project for arranging the future place of eternal rest, designed for 60,000 graves. According to their plan, a reduced-size copy of the ancient Roman Pantheon should appear in the center of the necropolis. In 1835, the plan was approved, but construction began only 9 years later. And the first burial took place in January 1851.
At that time, Genoa attracted influential bourgeois, who started a tradition of decorating their graves with beautiful tombstones, thereby perpetuating the memory of themselves. The famous masters of Italy created amazing creations - mourning sculptures that were placed on the graves. Only we althy people could afford to buy a place here.
The main attraction of the city
Over time, the Stalleno cemetery in Genoa expanded, and the number of graves increased. The necropolis was divided into three parts - English, Jewish and Protestant. In addition, there are children's and military zones.
The graves of famous people began to appear on its territory, located in a semicircle. So, Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian revolutionary, Constance Lloyd, the wife of the writer O. Wilde, found their last shelter here,Fabrizio de Andre is a popular singer, Nino Bixio is a famous politician and others. The ashes of F. A. were transferred here. Poletaev, a member of the Italian Resistance movement, who died in 1944.
At the end of the 19th century, the complex received the status of the main city attraction. Now the area of the cemetery is 33 hectares, and the number of burials has long exceeded 2 million.
Buried here to this day, and the inhabitants of Genoa book places in advance, for 5-7 years in advance. When a person dies, their relatives pay for the burial again.
Sculptural compositions that amaze the imagination
On the territory of the ancient cemetery "Staglieno", a photo of which you can see in the article, there are many sculptures made in Gothic, symbolic and realistic styles by the most famous masters of Italy. And each of them is a real masterpiece. A. P. Chekhov, who visited Genoa, wrote that he was very surprised by the life-size images of the dead. M. Twain admired the monuments, the lines of which are impeccable, and the faces of the sculptures struck him with the plausibility of emotions.
Each tombstone is a beautiful sculptural composition, because rich families installed truly luxurious statues on the graves of their relatives, sparing no expense for this. Tourists love to take photos at the Staglieno cemetery in Genoa, admiring the monuments of talented Italian masters.
Mini Pantheon
One of the most curious sculptures is the statue of Venus, located next to the main gate. The goddess is depicted as a younga woman dressed in a light tunic. In one hand she clutches a high cross, and in the other she holds a book. A small chapel was erected behind the back of the architectural work - a mini-copy of the Roman Pantheon with a large dome, a marble staircase and a portico with Doric columns. The statues of the prophets, carved from marble, rise on the sides of the building.
It is from the Pantheon that the covered galleries depart, in the niches of which there are tombstones. Each recess is a family crypt belonging to one family.
An impartial angel
An equally interesting work is the sculpture at the Staglieno cemetery, made by Giulio Monteverde. The "Angel of the Resurrection" (the second name is the "Angel of Death") is installed on the grave of the President of the Universal Bank, F. Oneto.
Genuine work of art has become a model of the new style of graveyard angels. The uniqueness of creation lies in its androgyny. The distant look of a sexless angel, huge wings behind his back and arms folded in a cross on his chest symbolize what awaits each of us.
If earlier the messengers of the Lord led the dead to the gates beyond which another life awaited them, and supported the dead, then this messenger is absolutely impartial, he looks from the outside at the departure of a person into oblivion, without any sorrow.
Eternal drama
The monument on the grave of the rich merchant Valente can be considered the most original and heartfelt composition of the "Staglieno" cemeteryCelle. Monteverde created a bronze sculpture that has a lot of meaning. He hints at a certain dualism between life and death. The latter dances with her future victim - a young and beautiful girl, on whose head a delicate butterfly lurks.
The statue called "Eternal Drama" is a reflection on the futile attempts of a doomed life to escape from the cold clutches of inevitable death.
Monument to Carlo Raggio
In addition to the dead, sculptors carved their inconsolable relatives in marble. So, for example, the master Augusto Riv alta portrayed all the relatives gathered at the deathbed of the head of a large family, Carlo Raggio. The realistic style proved to be the most suitable for expressing the concept of death. The author accurately reproduces the smallest details of both furniture and decorations, elements of clothing, as well as the emotional state of loved ones saying goodbye to a loved one.
The Italian sculptor refused to depict the symbolic figures of angels.
Everyone has their own dream
This sculpture in the Staglieno cemetery (Italy) has a very interesting story. It is curious that this image is not of a rich woman, but of an ordinary merchant. Caterina Campadonico has lived in poverty all her life. She sold sweet pastries, nuts on the streets of the city and dreamed of saving money for a monument in the necropolis where the rich were buried.
The unfortunate woman denied herself everything, working day and night. The inhabitants of Genoa laughed at her poor clothes, but she paid no attention towhom attention. And finally her dream came true. She ordered a tombstone for her grave from the famous Lorenzo Orengo, who depicted Katerina holding a thread of hazelnuts in an expensive dress, which is wearing a wrinkled apron.
The monument was erected before the death of Campodonico, which caused a public outcry. The city authorities called this act absurd, and the church condemned the townswoman for desecrating the necropolis. The woman soon died, and she was buried magnificently under a monument in the Staglieno cemetery. And the poor, envious that a simple merchant took a place next to noble people, carried the so-called candles of hope to the grave.
Only Katerina's heirs were dissatisfied, who wanted to get the funds that were spent on the creation of a marble monument.
Columbarium
Of particular interest is the multi-level columbarium - a very colorful corner with long corridors, burning candles, flowers covered with dust. Those who could not afford expensive monuments found shelter here.
Book in a container-coffin
It is curious that 15 years ago a book dedicated to the cemetery "Staglieno" was published. Popular American photographer Lee Friedlander, who is considered the genius of the random shot, presented his work made in Genoa. The work was placed in a special container, made in the form of a coffin, which is upholstered in maroon velvet.
Commercial limited edition album sold out in a few days.
Reminder of Transiencelife
Russian tourists who visited the monumental cemetery "Staleno" are experiencing a real shock. The unique atmosphere of a unique place, the living images of sculptures embodied in stone - all this is admirable. The architectural monuments located in the corner of eternal sadness are of historical value.
This is a great place for everyone to be alone with themselves and think about the inevitable. Here you can reflect on life and death, admiring the original works of art. In the cemetery, the dead remind the living of how fleeting life is.
