Ascetic necropolis: an extension to a Ligurian cemetery makes a dignified necropolis which responds tenderly to its hillside site.The cemetery extension at Armea di Sanremo in Liguria near Monaco is intended to retain the graveyard close to the centre of town to obviate ob·vi·ate tr.v. ob·vi·at·ed, ob·vi·at·ing, ob·vi·ates To anticipate and dispose of effectively; render unnecessary. See Synonyms at prevent. the need to build a new one far out beyond the suburbs. Carefully terraced into the natural slope above the traditional cemetery, the new extension has the traditional virtues of a modern Italian necropolis necropolis: see cemetery. necropolis (Greek: “city of the dead”) Extensive and elaborate burial place serving an ancient city. The locations of these cemeteries varied. : it is dignified, quiet and thoughtfully organized to give prominence to individual graves, without the place becoming a battleground for competing monuments. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It has three main parts: the low density burial area with individual graves partly dug into the hillside; an individual ossuary tower; and a cloistered ossuary and store for cinerary cin·e·rar·i·um n. pl. cin·e·rar·i·a A place for keeping the ashes of a cremated body. [Latin ciner remains. If you can afford to be buried in one of the individual graves, you lie there for 40 years, after which your remains will be removed from the earth, transferred to a small urn and stored indefinitely in the tower. Removal and later storage of remains is quite common in Catholic countries where, historically, the period of lying in the earth was much shorter: in medieval times
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament , churchyards were ploughed up every seven years and the remains unceremoniously dumped in the crypt. At Sanremo, relatives will have much of a lifetime in which to pay their respects to the dead before the remains are moved to the communal tower and the individual becomes part of the communal. The remains of less well-off people (and those who are cremated) are housed in a small cloister cloister, unroofed space forming part of a religious establishment and surrounded by the various buildings or by enclosing walls. Generally, it is provided on all sides with a vaulted passageway consisting of continuous colonnades or arcades opening onto a court. opposite the tower. This common ossuary is a calm, private place with a floor of roughly broken rock, stone seats and marble walls, with a slit in the long one to allow views south down the valley. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Throughout, materials have been chosen with much care. Paths are gravel, stairs precast concrete precast concrete Concrete cast into structural members under factory conditions and then brought to the building site. A 20th-century development, precasting increases the strength and finish durability of the member and decreases time and construction costs. . Retaining walls are in coursed local rubble. Marble is reserved for honorific hon·or·if·ic adj. Conferring or showing respect or honor. n. A title, phrase, or grammatical form conveying respect, used especially when addressing a social superior. positions: the tomb chests themselves, the cloister and the urn columbaria in the tower (which are themselves partly enclosed by a finely wrought concrete structure). Gradually, the planting (rosemary for remembrance and other north Mediterranean shrubs) will soften the landscape and shade the graves. The jury was impressed by the scheme's simplicity, its response to landscape, and its tenderness. |
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