Monumental Cemetery

In 1797, the commander in chief of the Napoleonic army, the French general Sextius Alexandre François de Miollis, ordered the immediate suppression and dismantling of the city cemeteries in the city. The suitable site for the construction of a new cemetery, larger than the one built outside Porta San Giorgio, was identified on the road that connects Mantua to Cremona, or which today is precisely via Cremona, near Borgo Angeli. . The cemetery was built almost quickly, but needing continuous enlargements it presented for some time an unfinished and not very decent aspect; only in 1904, the architect Ernesto Pirovano was commissioned to carry out further extensions in addition to the construction of the new facade of the cemetery, also winning the Royal Architecture Prize at the Milan International Exposition in 1906. The project involved the construction of a monumental structure, with galleries, chapels and tiers, decorated according to the prevailing and precious Liberty style; these expansion works began in 1919. In 1928 some spans of the west tunnels were built, so it was necessary to make changes which proved to be excessively demanding and economically onerous for the city. Consequently, the new project lost its previous grandeur but acquired the merit of a severe and solemn simplicity; the works were resumed in 1937 and ended the following year. Accessible by cycle-pedestrian. At the entrance there are free bikes and along the internal paths benches, baskets and bathrooms. Very well maintained, tidy and always manicured gardens. There are interesting information signs for each historical-artistic tomb, including the ancient crematory temple.

Well-kept paths, separate waste collection, lots of greenery, chapel, toilets, parking.

Historic place

I love cemeteries, especially those, like the Monumental of Mantua which is maintained both curated and the same over the years, unlike other municipalities, that of Mantua does not have the mania to raise funds through exhumations. Hooray! Really interested are the tombs kept inside, a cross-section of the evolution of funerary art through the last two centuries.

Well maintained and well-kept green. For enthusiasts, the monumental tombs of the main camp deserve, the complex was built starting from 1919 in Liberty style.