In Venice the last voyage of the deceased takes place by boat. And not only because water is a determining element of the lagoon city but because the cemetery is located on an island, halfway between Venice and Murano. Precisely this real isolation, but also the charm of the island of San Michele wrapped in an atmosphere suspended over the water of the northern lagoon, has meant that the cemetery of Venice has become the last home of illustrious people and famous names who, still alive, have chosen to rest forever in San Michele. A particular place not only for its position but also for its important architecture.
The island has been the seat of a large Camaldolese monastery for centuries. Among the many artistic testimonies, it houses the splendid Renaissance church built in the second half of the fifteenth century by the architect Mauro Codussi. Passing by vaporetto near San Michele, you can also admire its extraordinary white facade from the water, the brick bell tower built in 1456, the Emiliani family chapel (to the left of the church) from 1527.
San Michele in isola, a place of spirituality and a tourist destination: between art, history and the environment
A lot of ancient artistic history, but the cemetery here is actually not very old. It was placed outside the city center at the behest of Napoleon, in 1804. The first choice fell on the island of San Cristoforo della Pace. From the beginning, however, the space available on this site proved inadequate. The nearby San Michele was then added. The two islands were joined by burying a narrow channel to allow the extension of the cemetery which already in 1876 could be said to be completed.
The silent corridors of the cloisters, the cypresses, the peace, the particularity of this location so physically isolated from the rest of the city, have made it a "coveted" place by the many characters who wanted to be buried here. but also by the many tourists who visit it daily for its beauty and its particularity. Or simply to pay homage to the tomb that houses the remains of those who were famous and well known in life.
Many tombs of illustrious names who have chosen Venice and its cemetery
In San Michele in isola, as they say in Venice, there is for example the tomb of the American poet Ezra Pound. He is buried next to his lifelong partner, the violinist Olga Rudge. How can we forget the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky which has been resting in San Michele since 1971. The echo of his immortal music from the nearby Teatro La Fenice, where they are continuously re-proposed, also arrives in these parts. Two other famous Russians have chosen the island of San Michele for their eternal rest. The choreographer Sergey Diaghilev famous above all for having founded the company of the Russian Ballets. And the poet Joseph Brodsky, Nobel Prize for literature in 1987 and who had a special relationship with Venice, where he wanted to be buried.
Still famous names. Musicians are buried in San Michele Ermanno Wolf Ferrari and Luigi Nono, the psychiatrist Frank Basaglia, the scientist Christian doppler from which the Doppler effect takes its name. But also the actor Cesco Baseggio, the actress Lauretta Masiero, the painters Emilio Vedova, Virgilio Guidi and Mario De Luigi. The football coach Helen Herrera. The British diplomat Ashley Clarke, general secretary of Europa Nostra and founder as well as president from 1983 to 1994 of the Venice in Peril Found. The important funeral monuments are numerous, and make this cemetery an open-air museum. Where the sadness of the place is mitigated by its artistic and environmental contextualization. In Italy there are many monumental cemeteries, this one has a particularity that makes it unique.
The last trip in a gondola: so for Igor Stravinskij and also for Helenio Herrera
Since the cemetery of Venice is surrounded by water, for the transport of the bodies it is necessary to use special boats for this service. Anciently But gondolas were used, sometimes richly decorated to emphasize the importance of the deceased. He had the honor of the gondola, fifty years ago, the body of Stravinsky. And the body of the legendary Helenio Herrera also arrived in San Michele in a gondola. On the occasion of the commemoration of the dead, in recent years, before the problems linked to the pandemic, the custom of setting up a bridge of boats to connect the Fondamente Nove of Venice to the island of San Michele had been restored. A 400 meter long walkway made up of twenty modules floating on the lagoon. A particular temporary work of great attraction. However, this year too, as already in 2020, it will not be built to avoid the risk of gatherings and possible contagions.
(ph credit: Municipality of Venice)
