The Sweetest Remembrance
Cemeteries and traditions around death and mourning offer a fascinating window into a culture. Notices are posted on many boards in Italian communities to share news of a neighbor’s passing.
A community board in a nearby village
As a young child I remember a visit to a family plot with my grandmother. I thought it was odd to see a picture of a young boy in a sailor suit on the tombstone of a distant cousin. A photo on a grave marker seemed to me a sweet but archaic tradition.
And then I discovered Panzano’s cimitero. Walking one day on an uneven lane that winds up and out of the village I followed the sign that pointed to “Cimitero”. And there I discovered that this Italian tradition is still very much “alive”. Much more than the words chiseled into the marble, photos of the loved ones offer a glimpse into their personalities and passions.
Don’t you agree?
He loved his four legged friend
At 80 she wanted to be remembered as a 1950’s bathing beauty
A farmer at home on his tractor
She looks happy among her plants
I guess he was a cinghiale hunter!
And even a nun …