Porte Sante Cemetery, Florence
Located a few minutes’ walk away from Piazzale Michelangelo, The Porte Sante Cemetery (the Holy Gates) of Florence is a special place for several reasons. Not only is it one of the greatest monumental cemeteries in Tuscany, rich in artworks and being the final resting-place for many important figures, it stands in a position of immense grandeur.
Stretching all around the fortified ramparts surrounding the basilica and monastery of San Miniato al Monte, the cemetery boasts truly majestic view. It’s the same, breath-taking view that you can enojy from Piazzale Michelangelo, but less crowded.
Ciao! My name is Claudia, I am a licensed tour guide in Florence with over 10 years of experience. Learn more about me and my private guided tours in Florence. I am also an architecture historian with an expertise on cemeteries: I have wrote two books about cemeteries that were published in Italy!
The Porte Sante Cemetery of Florence
For centuries, the only inhabitants of this hill were the monks of San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful and ancient church dating back to the 11th century. The monks still live here today. In the 19th century, the city needed a large, modern cemetery, and one was built here to take advantage of its elevated position, far from residential areas and offering a spectacular view.
The cemetery was opened in 1848 according to the design of Niccolò Matas (the same architect who designed the façade of the church of Santa Croce), the cemetery has from this date through to the present been the premier site of interment for those illustrious Catholic Florentines deemed worthy of its soil. Being originally managed by the monks of the nearby San Miniato al Monte monastery, this is a strictly catholic cemetery. The graves are highly varies: there are poignant gravestones, elegant private chapels, and simple columbaria.
Famous People buried at the Porte Sante Cemetery
Perhaps most famous of the personalities buried here is Carlo Lorenzini, better known as Carlo Collodi. The creator of Pinocchio rests in his family’s neo-classical chapel, on the gate of which is a drawing of the world’s most beloved puppet. Did you know that Pinocchio was written and set in Florence? Learn more about Pinocchio in Florence in my blogpost! Close by is the tomb of Lorenzo Bertelli, aka Vamba, the author of my absolute favorite children’s books, Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca (which is unfortunately unknown abroad).
Among the three thousand buried here are influential artists such as Libero Andreotti, Pietro Annigoni, and Ottone Rosai, writers like Vasco Pratolini, and important Florentines like the former minister Giovanni Spadolini, the filmmaker Mario Cecchi Gori, and the movie and opera director Franco Zeffirelli. Also here are the tombs of two of the most famous Italian famous fashion designers, Enrico Coveri and Roberto Cavalli.
One of my favorite people buried here is Pellegrino Artusi, well known in the whole Italy as the godfather of Italian cuisine. Right after the unification of Italy, in 1861, Artusi wrote, published and regularly updated a collection of traditional recipes from all the different regions of the country. His book, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well., is still a best seller after 150 years.
I have pointed out just some of the most celebrated figures buried here; to walk through the Porte Sante is truly to walk through the modern history of Florence, and even Italian, art and culture.
Most beautiful graves at the Porte Sante Cemetery in Florence
The Porte Sante cemetery’s various funerary monuments cover a broad range of styles, many having been created by major artists. The site has therefore become a museum of sculpture.
There are hundreds of noteworthy creations – a full report would require many, many pages – but the romantic nineteenth-century designs adorned with symbols, allegorical figures, and sentimental portraits are probably the most striking.
One of the most beloved sculptures is the one on the grave of the Mazzone siblings, Mario and Maria. Mario, a fighter-pilot, died during World War II, with Maria following a year later, a few days before her wedding. Their mother designed the monument so they could remain together eternally; he in his uniform, she in her wedding dress. Most of the people think that they are a couple of lovers, but they are actually siblings.
The Emilio Koppel monument displays the romanticism of the late eighteen hundreds. Music is personified as a woman grieving for the loss of a musician. At her feet lie musical instruments and a crown of flowers alongside the widow’s tender dedication.
Notable Funeral Chapels
In addition to the sculptural works, the Porte Sante serves in effect as a catalog of architecture. There are dozens of private chapels that are miniature architectural masterpieces, often breaking sharply with conventional graveyard aesthetics. Many recall medieval and renaissance Florentine traditions, while others are of internationally popular styles of their time of construction, such as neoclassicism, liberty (an Italian analogue to art nouveau), and eclecticism.
My favorite is the Pettini Chapel, which combines neo-gothic and art deco structural features with a taste for the exotic in an eclectic mix. The ceramics were designed by Galileo Chini, one of the biggest names of Art Nouveau in Italy, a painter, sculptor, architect and ceramist who also worked in Bangkok for the king of Siam at the beginning of the XX century. Galileo Chini also decorated the stunning Monumental Cemetery of Antella. For more infos (and private tours!) about the Antella Cemetery read my post on Florence Cemeteries.
Many chapels imitate the great churches of Florence. These are the Barbadio and Lecchini Giovannoni chapels, whose neo-gothic and neo-renaissance designs clearly refer to Florentine architecture.
The Bonciani Francini Chapel is one of the most beautiful (though also most ruined) monuments in the cemetery. The architect, Enrico Dante Fantappiè, uses an original blend of the liberty and art deco features which characterizes much of his work, including several other monuments in this cemetery, which also serves as his resting place.
Private guided tours of the Cemetery
I like this place so much that I give private tours of the Porte Sante Cemetery of Florence.
The private tour of the Porte Sante Cemetery includes the visit to the close-by medieval church of San Miniato al Monte and piazzale Michelangelo.
- Duration: 2 hours
- Meeting point: Church of San Miniato al Monte
- Included: your local tour guide
- Not included: transportation
If you are interested into this tour or you want more information feel free to email me using this form! If you are a graveyard lover, also check my post about the English Cemetery of Florence.