The Milanese call it an “open-air museum,” and you can hardly blame them: the Monumental Cemetery of Milan, next to the M5 subway station of the same name, where many tourists and citizens go because of its proximity to the picturesque Paolo Sarpi district and the skyscrapers of Porta Nuova, is truly an architectural masterpiece that, with its statues and tombs, represents a true institution in the panorama of Milanese monumentality.
How to visit the Monumental Cemetery of Milan? Just choose NEIADE Tours & Events guided tours and tours!
Milan Monumental Cemetery, a true open-air museum
Its construction is already a few centuries old: the Monumentale did not exist before the Unification of Italy, and it was promoted by a municipal tender won by architect Carlo Maciachini, who had not been able to begin work until 1863.
Fascinating, even today, is the eclectic taste of the cemetery , which ranges from Romanesque to Byzantine, from Gothic to Pisan style.
The project was ambitious from the outset, but posterity was not disappointed: Milan’s Monumental Cemetery is a place of “immortal” beauty, whose architecture still bears witness to those who were the elite who made the Ambrosian capital great.
In fact, if earning a place in heaven is not so easy, neither is being able to boast of owning a grave at the Monumentale, at all. Those who rest under the cypress trees of the opulent cemetery certainly bear names that have not gone unnoticed by history: there are the great writers, such as Alessandro Manzoni, the haute couture designers, the most distinguished doctors and men of science, but also the publishers, such as Hoepli, Mondadori and Rizzoli.
But these are just a few of the big-name names that can be mentioned, because as you stroll through the cemetery’s avenues you will come across graves and memorials dedicated to truly timeless personalities.
Today, however, we do not want to dwell only on the character, but rather on the beauty of that “architecture of eternity” embodied in the stone and marble of tombs, statues, shrines and mausoleums in Milan’s Monumental Cemetery.
So if you are passing through Milan, take a sightseeing tour of the Monumental Cemetery and don’t miss these 8 tombs and statues in Milan’s Monumental Cemetery, some of the most beautiful ever!
Milan’s Monumental Cemetery: tombs, statues, shrines and monuments you absolutely must see
The heart of Milan’s Monumental Cemetery, custodian of the remains of the most illustrious figures in the city. Breathtaking architecture, with its large octagonal dome and cobalt blue reflections.
In the central part stands out the ark of Manzoni, the first Milanese of renown to find a place in the Famedio, while some of the names are engraved on the walls and, among those who although not Milanese made great contributions to the city, there is even that of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Not only Manzoni: from Carlo Cattaneo to Giuseppe Verdi, Mazzini and Cavour, there are many who also have a statue in their memory and among them Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio. Among the latest names to appear instead is also the great étoile of La Scala, Carla Fracci.
- The Tomb of Isabella Casati
Not far from the Ossuary, here we find the bronze work by artist Enrico Butti, honoring the late wife of Count Gian Luigi Casati, who died in her early twenties. The sculpture depicts the woman on her deathbed, with a disk behind her that represents a host of angels ready to take her with them to her final resting place. Recall that Butti was part of both the Scapigliatura current and Milanese Symbolism.
- The Berardi Monument
Among the great figures of Milan, there can certainly be no shortage of industrialists, those who made the city great through their work. This funeral monument, dedicated to industrialist Edoardo Berardi, is the work of Lucio Fontana: a bronze sculpture that, in addition to paying homage to the figure of the deceased, alludes to the industriousness and dignity of work, recalled by the cogwheel beside the man.
- Feltrinelli Newsstand
One of the most beautiful aedicules in the cemetery, the work of architect Guido Casarini. Made in the whiteness of Botticino marble, the Feltrinelli family chapel is inspired by the Renaissance and Mannerism, as evidenced by the splendid and rich dome that surmounts the aedicule itself.
- Elysium Monument
The reference to Art Nouveau is strong, given the presence of the large gold disk behind the two figures wrapped in an embrace: the Elisi Monument, dedicated to little Adriana (daughter of entrepreneur Ettore Elisi), depicts an angel intent on carrying away a little girl. A dynamic and emotional sculpture made of white Carrara marble and the work of Francesco Penna.
- Bernocchi Newsstand
The result of an artistic collaboration between architect Alessandro Minali and sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, this aedicule is inspired by the reliefs of memorial columns from Roman times. As many as 110 statues are carved to represent a sad Way of the Cross, with a spiral upward movement that is truly striking.
- Prada Corielli Monument
A pupil of Butti is Enrico Pancera, the artist who shaped this bronze work: a monument depicting an angel in flight, a soul ascending to the eternal, immersed in a rose bush. It is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau sculptures in the cemetery, which despite its immobility manages to give movement and lightness to the representation.
- Campari Newsstand
Large and majestic, the Campari Wayside Shrine is a true masterpiece: it is a sculptural group made of bronze on a massive plinth. The sculptural group depicts the Last Supper and was made for the Campari family, famous for the eponymous aperitif. The aedicule is the work of sculptor Giannino Castiglioni.
Feel like taking a tour among these architectural wonders? NEIADE Tour & Events knows how to guide you on a tour of Milan’s Monumental Cemetery so you can discover these tombs and many other important mausoleums dedicated to the great people who rest there in eternity.
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