A place of great charm, at the foot of the Apuan Alps, the Marcognano Monumental Cemetery is one of the most poignant and monumental vestiges of what can be considered the golden age of modern Carrara, when marble quarrying and processing propelled the town to unprecedented rates of economic, social, urban and demographic growth.
The first project for the construction of a new cemetery dates back to 1885, when it became evident that the old suburban cemetery (at what is now Matteotti Square), was unable to meet the needs of the city. The intent was, from these early stages, not only aimed at decorum and hygiene, but at the monumentality of the complex: “a cemetery that can be a worthy home for the deceased and the artistic decorum of our town.” The mayor of Carrara demanded a work that was not only functional but “worthy of the city of marbles, of the city that gave life to so many artists.” The Piedmontese architect Leandro Caselli (1854-1906), who came to the city as municipal engineer in 1884, therefore designed an imposing architecture, articulated on a central temple with a dome, all in “Greco-Roman” forms.
The opening of the new cemetery also necessitated the creation of a new road system, with a large bridge over the Carrione stream and a wide tree-lined avenue intended to provide the city with a “pleasant promenade.” Caselli, who left the city for a new post in 1892, predicted that the work could take a few decades, using statistical data to predict the influx of deceased people to the structure that was still under construction. Epidemics and floods, coupled with Carrara’s relentless population growth, however, went to affect these plans, very soon, and the completion of Marcognano had to proceed at a different pace, largely omitting the decorative elements envisioned by Caselli.
The central tempietto was never built, and replaced by a more modest chapel located near the main entrance, but the monumentality of the complex was soon provided for by the families of the great marble bourgeoisie, erecting lavishly decorated funeral chapels.
The structure is still in operation; daily access is therefore free, mornings and afternoons (with times varying with the seasons), but clothing and attitude appropriate to the nature of the place are recommended, even for visits for tourist purposes only.
The central shrine church is lined with plaques commemorating fallen soldiers of the two world wars, with inscriptions that are often dramatic and moving. Continuing to the left, the path advances among early 20th-century tombstones, often accompanied by piercing and ornate portraits of masterful execution, demonstrating the high technical level attained by the Carraresi stonemasons and sculptors of the time.
Strolling through the avenues of the complex, one will often encounter burials of distinguished local artists, from Ferdinando Pelliccia (1808-1895), longtime director of the city’s Academy of Fine Arts, to Giuseppe Lazzerini (1831-1895) and his son Alessandro (1860-1942), whose sculptures departed for all of Europe (as well as the United States of America and Mexico), to Arturo Dazzi (1881-1966), whose severe monument stands near the entrance.
Prominent among the sculptors’ burials is that of the Nicoli family, surmounted by a pensive bronze angel of refined execution: there rest Carlo Nicoli (1843-1915) and his heirs, up to the great-grandson of the same name who died at the age of ninety-one in 2021 after running the family studios for decades.
Among the most significant chapels, placed for the most part in the highest section of the cemetery, on a large terrace from which there is a fine view of the quarries of the Torano Basin, those of the Triscornia and Orsini families, in the Egyptian style, the original Mattioli tomb, with a vivid bust portrayed on a truncated pyramid of clear Masonic inspiration, and the austere Beretta chapel, inspired by Mazzini’s monumental tomb at Staglieno (in memory of the participation of some family members in the execution of the monument to Mazzini in Genoa).
Much appreciated is the sequence of large angels that characterize, with their scenic and exciting presence, some of the tombs placed in the extreme left sector of the cemetery: to the already mentioned specimen of the Nicoli chapel should certainly be added those of the Maggesi, Pisani-Corradi, and Berring-Nicoli monuments.
Also very notable are the tombstone carved by a young Nardo Dunchi (1914-2010) to remember his brother Carlo, who died in 1945, and the poet Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi’s (1871-1919) heartfelt dedication for the very young teacher Assuntina Dini.
Among the illustrious figures, who rest at Marcognano, at least the geologist Domenico Zaccagna (1851-1940) and playwright Cesare Vico Lodovici (1885-1968) should be mentioned.One of the most tragic and engaging monuments, however, is dedicated not to wealthy industrialists or leading figures in cultural life, but to the ten quarrymen, aged between thirteen and seventy-one, who lost their lives in the landslide at the Bettogli quarry on July 26, 1911.