Milano Cimitero Monumentale

Working in the area, and knowing I was about to leave Milano, one day I finally escaped during “pausa pranzo” to visit Cimitero Monumentale.

I’m not really into visiting cemetery and taking pictures of graves, I find it weird and voyeurist.  But that day, my curiosity won, everybody was keep talking about it, I could not leave Milano without visiting it...

Without knowing, I probably picked the best moment of the year to do it: with All saints, graves were covered by flowers and the winter light of midday was giving a strange ambiance…

I have to admit I would have never imagined what I saw, I was expecting big but not so crazy insane big. This cemetery is like a Versailles for dead people, even if  I would consider it more like a Disneyworld: every famous “name” has its own doll house and tried to make it the most appealing. So walking in the alley, you go from the egyptian pyramid, the greek temple, roman architecture, Indian influence small palaces to very modern structures.

 

Initially it has been build mid 19^th century to gather all the small cemeteries of Milan and a lot of famous people are buried there. But I experimented it as a completely megalomaniac place. It reminded me UBU ROI from Alfred Jarry, where a ridiculous image is given to "fame and power" greedy people, afraid of death cause nobody will remember them, and so try to find a way of leaving a trace.

While I was walking there, I tried to focus only on architecture, to avoid the discomfort left by watching graves. Yet, the sculptures on the graves have been made to catch the eyes, they are everywhere, big, in bronze, scary. Even the sun or the flowers, don’t manage to give them a quiet and peaceful attitude, it’s even worse, they become surrealist. You can’t avoid feeling the pain everywhere: the sculptures are standing for people praying in the pain, skeletons, death metaphor… Like if each time you have to think about dead people you have to feel guilty and bad. I’m not saying death is not a big deal, I’m just saying I prefer to keep a positive souvenir of the people I met and are dead, more than feeling about to commit suicide cause, me, I’m still here. I remember visiting a cemetery during all saints in Morne à l'eau in Guadeloupe, the graves were giving you a healthy feeling. They had lighted candles everywhere, and the warmth of the candles was giving a positive/joyful atmosphere. A good way to remember people you used to know, nothing compared to the traditionalist “ I have to whip myself cause I have to feel pain of death”…