Qui sulla scena della storia e dell’ universo – F. Di Filippo

Visits to the cemetery are not everyone’s thing, probably because Death is in such opposition to Life and Living. However, as our guide Gino Mazzone told our group of 15 the morning of our visit, a walk through Campo Verano is a “good occasion to know Rome and its attitude towards death.”

Cimitero (Italian for cemetery) is derived from the Greek comao, meaning “to sleep” and in the Christian tradition, it is but a place where people sleep before the resurrection.

The world of the living has always been distinct from the world of the dead and the necropolis was situated well outside the inhabited areas. At the beginning of the 19th century, Campo Verano was identified by the French authorities to be the site for a cemetery that would reflect the French value and tradition of egalitarianism: it was to be a laic burial place that would show that in death, men were meant to be equal. The French vision, unfortunately, did not materialize as intended. With Napoleon’s downfall, the French departed from Rome in 1815, and after the Reformation, the locals refused to be buried with the foreigners.

Luigi Canina, architect-archeologist who excavated and designed the Appian Way, envisioned a landscaped cemetery where open greens would be occasions for reflection. It was Vespigniani, however, who gave the cemetery its form, adapting the idea of a cloistered cemetery as a respectful separation of the town of the living from the town of the dead.

The cloister plan that we encountered on entering Campo Verano is a typical re-visitation of medieval art. The arcades house the tombs of the wealthy and the important people, while the open field it enclosed were for the ordinary tombs, mostly members of religious orders (priests and nuns). The arcade on the left as one enters Campo Verano had been badly damaged with the aerial strafing and bombing during the last World War, together with the nearby Basilica of St. Laurence Outside the Walls. The original tombs had not all been rebuilt to their original state. The right arcade, however, give indication of the level of skills of the Italian artists at work at the time of decadence. In fact, the tomb erected by the artist Achille Lombardi to honor his wife Emilia is impressive in its realism: we could almost feel the silk texture of her quilted robe as she embraced her young son. This arcade likewise showed the emergence of the well-to-do middle class: shopkeepers and government employees vied with each other in the richness of the decoration on their family tombs. The statue of the painter Tommaso Minardi depicted him in his normal clothes, that imitate those worn by the upper crust. Some tombs of the emerging middle class came out elegant and pleasant to see; others were just too garish in their enthusiasm to include as many diverse elements as possible! In comparison, the mausoleum of the established noble families (Balestra, Medici, Colonna) were simple and unassuming as if to indicate they have nothing to prove.

We saw a good number of tombs with enamel portraits painted by the artist Filippo Severati. His skills as a painter were quite impressive in the portraits he executed to decorate the tombs of the deceased, and his technique unique and unparalleled. His method of enamel painting has remained a secret until recently when scientific studies revealed what could possibly be his formula and method. His portraits, contrary to those of the disciples who trained under him, maintain the vividness of their colors. He could easily have had a successful artistic career outside, but this man preferred to be a cemetery portraitist. Unfortunately, he died quite young at only 43 and although wealthy, his class standing did not allow his burial in the Quadroportico. His own tomb carries his self-portrait, looking hardly a day older than the day it was painted.

Some significant tombs we visited included those of
• Goffredo Mammelli who wrote the rousing Italian national anthem “Fratelli d’Italia”- His tomb had both the lyre (to indicate he was a poet) and the pistol and fasce (to indicate he was a soldier), and the nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini wrote: “ The lyre and the sword are just symbols of his life.”
• the Nathan Family tomb in the hilly section called the Pincetto which resembles a rock formation with the names of the deceased family members (although buried elsewhere) - The remains of Ernesto Nathan, who is regarded as the greatest mayor that Rome ever had (notwithstanding the achievements and recognition of the incumbent) are buried here. If only to sum up his many contributions to public life in the City, Mayor Ernesto Nathan was the first public servant to realize that public utilities are best kept as public corporations for the benefit of the population. Thus, he founded both the Azienda Comunale Energia e Ambiente (ACEA) and the ATAC because he was aware of the importance of a good and affordable public transportation system and of keeping the cost of water and electricity affordable. And to think that the Man was not even a native Roman but an English Jew transplanted in Italy following his friendship with Giuseppe Mazzini and his admiration for his ideas!
• La Via delle Cappellete with mausoleums like a series of little churches
• the tomb of the dialectic poet and satirist Carlo Alberto Salustri (a.k.a. Trilussa), the simplicity of which was spoiled by the addition of memorial markers.
• the family mausoleums of the Italian film directors Roberto Rossellini (the father of neo-realism as in the award winning film “ Roma Citta Aperta” (1944) and Sergio Leone, the father of spaghetti westerns (the best of which was “Once Upon a Time in America”) buried in the family tomb of the Calderai.
• Natalia Ginzburg Baldini, the writer is buried in a family plot with a cross (although she herself is a Jew) and a crown (to indicate the noble origins of her husband). She had written, “Whoever lives properly, dies properly.”

Although there were many beautiful tombs honoring women who had been loved greatly in this life, there were two that particularly caught my attention. They were located at right angles to each other. One was enclosed in glass and had a soaring effect with its raised tomb (well above the line of vision) topped by a larger-than-life white stucco female angel; the other was a simple mausoleum – squat, low and self-effacing – with only a poem by a grieving spouse to his departed wife. The glass-enclosed soaring memorial was the tomb of Claretta Petacci, mistress of Benito Mussolini. Her tomb of black marble simply said “Claretta”. The simple mausoleum nearby housed the remains of the wife of Peppino de Filippo. The simple lines written to express how she is missed in their daily life as a couple is bitter-sweet in its poignancy.

History buffs are aware of Clara Petacci’s last days and her steadfast resolve to remain by the Duce’s side, despite the supposed offer of her freedom by his captors. She was shot alongside her beloved Benito in Dongo, and later her body was exhibited hanging beside his, upside down, in a Milanese piazza to an angry crowd. Somebody, however, spared Clara Petacci from any further indignity by tying down her skirt. The dignity and uplifting feeling exuded by her final resting place, to me, seem to be reparatory attempts of her loved ones to expiate and replace the popular memory of her execution and public exhibition. (Interested readers can find photos of Claretta in Wikipedia and other Google Internet sources. Copyright prevents their reproduction here.)

Campo Verano is full. It is said that plots are only on lease for 30 years and that it no longer accepts further burials, except those of outstanding and prominent figures. One thing is sure, though. It is so easy to get lost in the enormity of its area, spread out like a gigantic blanket to enfold those who are sleeping while waiting for the Final Day.