Cemetery becomes tourist destination

Destination Staglieno – a world-class sculpture showcase

Staglieno Cemetery (Italian called Staglieno Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno) is also the cemetery of Genoa – the capital of the Liguria region, in northwestern Italy. Staglieno Cemetery is famous for its monumental sculptures and breathtaking architecture.

Staglieno Cemetery is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world, with beautifully sculpted graves (Image: Tour a Grave)

Staglieno Cemetery was conceived in 1804, after the decree Saint-Cloud of Napoleon (then in charge of northern Italy) forbade burials in towns and church catacombs because they were overcrowded.

Staglieno Cemetery is fast becoming the trendy choice for burying the dead, and is growing in popularity as a showcase of world-class sculpture. (Photo: Atlas Obscura)

Designed by the famous Genoese architect Carlo Barabino in Neoclassical style, the Staglieno cemetery has been open since early 1851.

This magnificent work shows a compromise between the form of the traditionally orderly Camposanto composition, with the trendy new wild Boschetto style (as at the famous Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France). The highlight of which is a version of the famous Pantheon in Rome.

The strange “talking” statues come to life and “fascinate” visitors

Today, the Staglieno cemetery is a destination that attracts tourists from all over the world, to admire the sculptures known as the “talking” statues. The statue very vividly depicts mourning angels, bereavements with grieving widows…

(7: Tomb of the Appiani family in the Staglieno cemetery is the work of sculptor Demetrio Paernio. (Photo: Atlas Obscura)

Staglieno Cemetery is considered to say more than the dead, as representing the confluence of life-promoting movements…

In 1980 the image of the Appiani family mausoleum in the Staglieno cemetery became the cover art for the British rock band Joy Division’s Closer album, released after the death of lead singer Ian Curtis.

The lifelike statue of the grain farmer Caterina Campodonico has a strange charm. (Photo: Atlas Obscura)

At Staglieno Cemetery, the spectacularly sculpted tombs are the resting places of wealthy families. However, there is a grave of a female farmer selling nuts that is very popular, with a strangely lifelike statue of Caterina Campodonico – the poor woman who spent all her savings from selling nuts to build Get yourself a lavish grave at this “beautiful death” place.

Curious tourists who want to experience the myth often go on guided tours or Ghost Tours. However, the outcome is said to depend on their “predestination”. (Photo: Atlas Obscura)

Staglieno Cemetery is increasingly attracted by ghostly rumors about the sudden appearance of ghosts either hovering over his own grave, or wandering in the cemetery. The most famous is the ghost of the famous architect Carlo Barabino.