cemetery culture of la superba

Boccadasse, a visually famous suburb of Genoa

I always knew my grandma and her family were from Genoa, Italy, but I realized only recently how kind of awesome that is. Known regionally as La Superba (The Superb One,) the birthplace of a saint and few popes. Genoa is a bustling port town on the northern Mediterranean coast, and is perhaps known best as the origin of that infamous explorer-slash-genocidal maniac, Christopher Columbus That reluctant acceptance aside, Genoa turns out to be this really amazing town, a crossroads of culture for northern Italy. 

Pesto, I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way.
(I'm pretty sure Pablo Neruda was talking about Pesto.)

And it happens to be the local origin of pesto sauce, which, to me, makes Genoa pretty much one of the happiest places on earth for that reason alone. Genoa also boasts the largest aquarium in Italy, the Acquario di Genova, which elicits all sorts of The Life Aquatic type fantasies for me. It's also home to some of the most amazing architecture, fine art and sculpture in all of Europe. So now I have reason to believe some of my deep and lifelong interests are genetically linked to Genoa, however not scientifically possible that may be. :)

The Angel Of Resurection, sculpted by Monteverde, Staglieno Cemetery

While I was flitting around online looking into my ancestral origin story, I came across some images from the Monumental Cemetery Staglieno (Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno,) one of the largest, most breathtaking cemeteries in Europe, which rests on a hillside of Genoa. The teenage, Anne Rice reading, all black wearing, clove smoking part of me rose up in angst like some Gothic vapour from deep within the murky depths of my soul...(actually I keep that locked away in the "embarrassing momentary fashion trends" part of me,) and I scoured the net for photos of the amazingly lifelike sculptures meant to commemorate what could possibly be a few of my ancestors. Designed in 1851, this cemetery is host to the finest outdoor collection of late 19th and early 20th century Italian marble sculpture by artists like Leonardo Bistolfi, Giulio Monteverde, and Edoardo Alfieri, and even sports a mini version of the Parthenon. Angsty 80's teen band Joy Division featured one of the sculptures at Staglieno on the cover of their "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single...that's how Goth it is. 


Check out these photos of the monuments at Staglieno...even if you're not into sculpture, you might be after you see these sensual, lifelike statues.

• Flickr Photos of Staglieno Cemetary
• Google Image Search for Staglieno
• A Nice Set of Large Statue Images
• Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno - Wikipedia

I researched a bit into my family tree to find out if one of these artworks might be dedicated to a genetic ancestor of mine. Sadly, it seems the majority of my relatives were poor, and quite likely buried in unmarked mass graves used many times for peasants due to the lack of land space in Italy. Not very romantic, but hey, as far as depressing burials go, that's kinda Goth too. <3