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Certosa Cemetery
This cemetery on the outskirts of Bologna was established in 1801, long after Certosa meaning Charterhouse of San Girolamo was founded here in the 1300s. Just inside this side entrance along Via della Certosa is a grand monument dedicated to Italian sporting heroes Olindo Raggi, Amedeo Ruggeri and others.
Certosa is one of the most famous cemeteries in Europe and the following footage will quite clearly demonstrate this for here, among the tombs and graves are some of the most spectacular sculptures and master art works in the world. However, it’s not simply a matter to show aesthetic beauty here but a time capsule reflecting diverse customs and social strata. Furthermore, this cemetery was also where artists often set the tone for future generations – it’s quite literally the modern equivalent of the cat walk.
Famous Bolognese families in these rooms include: Gianstefani, Zoboli, Maragoni, Tomba, Parenti, Pax and Gambini. The wealth and status of those families long ago was overtly recognised as only the best craftsmanship could buy the respect they sought in real life with them in death. There were many masters at work here but to name but a few they include sculptors such as De Maria, Putti, Bartolini, Vela and painters like Basoli, Palagi and Fancelli.
Certosa came about because health regulations stipulated that cemeteries should be placed outside city boundaries. Napoleon’s edict a few years later in the early 1800s only reinforced this position. Architects thus began to design extravagant monuments and private chapels for the noble and bourgeois Bolognese. The Charterhouse was quickly transformed into a museum. Artists assumed the next role when they began sculpting tombs, statues and designing art work which heralded the dawn of artistic expression among the dead. Neo-classical monuments accommodate Realist art work and
Enlightenment symbolism. The roots for modern art were firmly planted here.
Some important characters from Bologna’s past who are interred here include the politician Minghetti, painters Morandi and Saetti, literary greats Carducci and Bacchelli, composer Respighi, industrialists Maserati, Weber and Zanichelli.
In this area are the tombs of Carducci, Franceschini and a distinguished building as a private chapel to the family of Talon where even inside are two seats, whether for symbolic terms or which in fact have been used by visitors is not indicated. Suffice to say that this type of standard provides us a window into the past which historians can only revel in.
Many high ranking soldiers are buried here, plots among the gardens and along the corridors obviously dedicated to them. The most symbolic of their sacrifices for their country though is the War Memorial to those who fell during WWII at the Russian front. Equally impressive though in another part of the grounds is the monumental Ossuary for WWI soldiers, for Partisans and even that of the Fascist Militias who died serving Benito Mussolini.
During excavations of the cemetery in the 19th century the Charterhouse was thrust into the lime light. Work was initiated to expand the burial grounds but in the process an ancient Etruscan necropolis was discovered. Scholars from all around the world flew in and began sifting through the ruins. As a result important relics from the area were brought to light and later transferred to the Bologna Archaeological Museum thus also confirming Certosa as a significant location in Italian history.
The cloisters next to the church of San Girolamo are not to be overlooked either. Many of these buildings were erected in the early 1800s and for this reason the beginnings of a transformation can be noticed. In some of the rooms here early paintings illustrate strong origins of the Bolognese school of art. From humble roots many of the decorative elements here including sculptures were done in poorly classified substances such as chalk, plaster and terracotta. In the middle 1800s this all changed because the arrival of roads and railways meant that moving marble and heavy equipment was an opportunity put to immediate use.
Finally, Certosa is a non-stop workshop because in order to reveal the incredible stories, past lives of those interred here, the many works of art and sculptures that adorn the corridors, cloisters, pavements and chapels restoration work is an essential piece of the puzzle. Two people charged with these duties in the past were Francesco Amante and Flavio Favelli.
This is only the beginning though.
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