Necropolis

I've come across a few of the large and ornate cemeteries that are such a feature of this part of Italy, but today, entering Garlasco, I came across the most impressive so far. 

The site covers acres of ground, surrounded by classical porticos and extravagant monuments. Inside, the dead are crowded together like fans at a football game, arranged in close packed rows and tiers. Tombs are peppered with etchings, statues and photographs. And at the far end a beautiful, simple chapel topped by a mosaic of the risen Christ and the single word: RESURREXIT.

The dead live here. There's a strong sense of love, remembrance, gratitude and hope. In Britain folks are sometimes afraid of burial grounds; they find them unsettling or spooky. This place is gentle and beautiful. 

By the way, isn't it interesting that we usually think of ghosts as frightening? But if ghosts are the spirits of the dead, why would those dead be any different in death than that were in life? And in life, most people are pretty ok, not terrifying and malicious. It seems to me Caspar the Friendly Ghost would be the norm, not the exception. 

We should love the dead, not fear them.

///ellipse.analysis.payee