Study Abroad Journal May 22

What is it with the dead?  As we have moved around Italy, there have been many monuments to dead people designed to engage living people in order to keep the dead person’s memory alive.  From a truly spectacular monument like Trajan’s column to more sedate monuments that offer a bench for people to sit on and reflect, everywhere there are tombs.  I understand that the Romans thought that they would live on as long as they were remembered by living people, so your tomb was designed to engage with people who didn’t even know you.  But what about today’s Italians?  In 

May 22, 2014.  Renaissance statue of St. Bartholomew by Marco D'Agrate, 1562 displayed in the Milan Cathedral with his flayed skin wrapped around him.  D'Agrate signed this work by saying, "I was not made by Praxiteles, but by Marco D'Agrate".   This work was morbidly fascinating and easy to miss in this dark church.

 visiting the monumental cemetery in Milan, I didn’t know that people could build monuments to people who have just died in the same manner as Romans.  There were monuments that copied other great works, like Trajan’s column, the Last Supper, and famous icons. 

These tombstones, mausoleums, and monuments were huge, made of precious stones, had stained glass and these were dedicated to one person.  They reminded me of the Lincoln’s tomb in 

May 22, 2014.  Bernocchi monument in the Monumental Cemetery in Milan.  This monument was made to look like Trajan's column with spiraling figures evidencing the New Testament creating the base of the column.  The inside of this column housed the tombs of husband and wife with gilt mosaics around their tombs.  This was only one of many huge, ostentatious tombstones in this cemetery. 

May 22, 2014.  A shot down the length of the Milan Cathedral to highlight the lacy Gothic design that was attached to the outside in order to mimic the Gothic style.  Started in 1386, completed in 1805 with many different architects trying from France trying to complete the Gothic style and then Italian architects trying to downplay the Gothic style.  This cathedral does not resemble any other seen in Italy.

Springfield, IL.  But that was one of our greatest presidents and his whole family buried with him.  These tombs are for individuals and they are immense.  I guess that you can do what you want with your money, but I don’t understand the allure in spending so much money on something that will eventually fade away. 
Why not go for an earth mound like they have from Neolithic times that are still present today?  Why not be burned and sprinkled around or even buried, but do you have to take up so much space saying that you’re buried there?  I find cemeteries a monumental waste of space and money.  This is also being written in the face of

having to design and get someone to make a tombstone for Sibyl, John’s grandmother who died in December.  Here it is, June, and we are still trying to get things worked out for a simple tombstone.  Can you imagine if we wanted to have sculptures, stained glass, and a tomb that takes up a city block?