If The Dead Could Speak: Italy’s Remarkable Monumental Cemeteries

Class Description

The monumental cemeteries of Italy are profoundly soul-stirring. These open-air museums are exceptionally beautiful and overflowing with provocative historical narratives. Despite this, cemeteries in Italy are ephemeral places where remains are continuously removed, often within a generation. They offer an often-fleeting opportunity to connect with public memory and the personal history of the residents. While the use of “necropolis” is usually relegated to the ancient world and cemetery is ascribed to more ordinary and modern sites, these cemeteries are anything but ordinary. As Mark Twain said of Genoa’s monumental cemetery, “we shall remember it after we shall have forgotten the palaces”. We will journey through the imprint of historical memory created by monumental cemeteries in Milan, Bologna, Genoa, Rome, and Naples.

Christine Contrada earned a PhD in history from Stony Brook University. She teaches history at Northern Virginia and Germanna Community Colleges and trains teachers in an Erasmus program in Rome, Italy. She writes about intersections between history and popular culture and has a podcast called Christory: History Where You Least Expect It.

All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.

What to Expect

Format: Virtual

Class Capacity: 24

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged

Materials List

Required

• Instructor-Distributed Materials—this class will use the platform Padlet to distribute materials and provide a space for asynchronous discussion outside of class time

First Reading

• Ahead of our first course meeting, please read the short reading selections that highlight some of the scholarship around the significance of Italy's monumental cemeteries. They highlight themes that will be foundational in our course. The reading and questions for us to discuss in our class in our course Padlet.
• Please note that there is a space in Padlet if you have thoughts about the articles ahead of time. Please feel free to share your ideas as they will help us launch into conversation and debate during our time together.

A Brief Syllabus

1. Introduction
2. Certosa in Bologna
3. Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno in Genoa
4. Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
5. Rome’s Cimitero Monumentale del Verano and the Cimitero Acattolic
6. Fontanelle and Poggioreale cemeteries of Naples

Cost and Registration

6 Sessions, $245 ($220.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($245), Community Supported ($225), and Sponsor ($265). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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