Dead space

In the second half of the 1800s the town council of Caltagirone built in a Gothic-Sicilian style his monumental cemetery, which was recognised as a national monument in 1931.
The plan is square with a Greek cross made ​​up of 170 arches that form its four main avenues. The architect, Giovan Battista Nicastro, used white stone from the Ragusa area, lava stone from the Etna and the local terracotta and ceramic.
Over time the grounds have become stuffed with individual tombs, sepulchae and ordinary graves - even the walls external and internal are full of full length interrals.
Many plots are lined with terracotta tiles depicting angels and demon: these ones frame the ossary where old bones are dumped to recover burial space.
I thought at first it was something from the Raj but in fact many chapels, designed by the architect Xavier Fragapane, are in Liberty (Art Nouveau) style.
Unfortunately, the town council has no money to maintain the place and quite a few buildings have been forsaken and robbed. Although some places are leased by families, others have been bought outright and remain in the family even after abandonment. So the Council couldn't do anything even if it wanted to.
Sic transit gloria mundi.Read more