Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria
Coordinates: 39°12′39″N 9°07′29″E / 39.210833°N 9.124722°E
The Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria is located in Cagliari, Sardinia. In use between 1829 and 1968, the cemetery originally occupied an area at the base of the hill of Bonaria, and over time expanded upwards. The main entrance is located in Piazza Cimitero, with a second entrance in Ravenna, at the Basilica of Bonaria. Several famous people were buried in Bonaria, including the canonical archaeologist Giovanni Spano, the tenor Piero Schiavazzi and General Carlo Sanna.
The cemetery is sited on a necropolis that had been used by Punic, Roman and early Christian communities of Cagliari; several ancient caves were carved into the limestone of the hill, formerly used as tombs. Archaeological finds removed from the caves are nowadays in the museum of Bonaria.
The modern Bonaria cemetery was built in 1828 by Luigi Damiano, Captain of Engineers, and opened on 1 January 1829. Thirty years later an extension was designed by Gaetano Cima. In use between 1829 and 1968, the cemetery, which originally occupied an area at the base of the hill of Bonaria, extended in subsequent extensions to the top. Until 1929 the church of Santa Maria de Portu Gruttis, also known as San Bardilio, stood by the entrance, dating back to the 12th century. The French traveller Vuiller Gaston described Cagliari in 1890 in his book Les îles oubliées: les Baleares, la Corse et la Sardaigne, impressions de voyage (published in 1893). He wrote: "The tombs here are of exceptional richness. White statue symbolicly peer through the cypresses and huge bouquets of flowers, wreaths, left at recent funerals, have preserved some of their freshness."
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