Scarica Exploring Florence's Cemeteries: A Cultural and Historical Journey e più Esercizi in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity! Dialects of the City Giulia Bianchi & Nathan Kidane Tewolde Final Paper Work Cemeteries in Florence When people travel to various countries, they usually do not visit cemeteries because they are not popular. They are underestimated and are considered creepy and unimportant. In some countries anything connected to death must be avoided. In Italy, and obviously in Florence there is a strong respect for the dead and people maintain a strong link between them and who have died. This fact can be identified with the large number of flowers and photos left in the graveyards. In some cases, they have some of the most beautiful statues and monuments of the places. This could be the case of the Porte Sante Cemetery in Florence which is a monumental cemetery full of beautiful statues and symbolic monumental tombs. Each cemetery has its own look and feel. Cemeteries are a reminder of historical facts. They remind us of dedication of those who gave their lives for freedom, in particular the Memorial Cemeteries such as the Florence American Cemetery that can be found near Impruneta. Visiting Military cemeteries can be a sad experience because they show how many soldiers gave their lives to their Nation. Cemeteries give us a great look inside the culture of the residents of the country or the buried. The English Cemetery present an English view of burials. It is a Protestant burial site, so it is placed outside the city walls. The rituals change from country to country and visiting cemeteries could be important to enrich peoples culture heritage, the Jewish Cemetery can give information about a religion that is not so popular and well-known. This map shows the four cemeteries mentioned above. Porte Sante (The Holy Gate) Cemetery – Natan Kidane Tewolde My colleague and I decided to do cemeteries around Florence because we can learn thanks to them. Often no tourist visits cemeteries while on vacation because they retain cemeteries as unusual place to visit. Not only tourists but also people who live in Florence do not visit the cemeteries even though they are important. I chose to the Porte Sante cemetery because it is one of the biggest monumental cemeteries found in Tuscany, and it is also near to the Piazzale Michelangelo. Even though the place is beautiful I had a problem getting there. I took a bus which was 25 minutes late and that was not the worst part subsequently the driver sent me down on the wrong bus stop. Once I got off the bus, I started asking around on how to get to the cemetery and every people that I asked felt sorry for me because I had to walk a lot. At first, I was really angry but my colleague calmed me down. To get to change because we never know what will happen in the future, so I am gonna be thankful. The English Cemetery – Giulia Bianchi The English Cemetery of Florence is one of the most magnificent urban roundabouts. It stands in the middle of Florence like an island in the middle of the sea. For me it is not a surprise to become aware of the fact that the Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin take the inspiration from this graveyard for his painting “The Isle of the Dead”. His studio was located just a few steps from the English Cemetery. Walking in this site transported me in his painting. When I visited it the weather was uncertain, one minute sunny and the other cloudy and this fact has played a significant role in my experience. This image is one of the five painting entitled “The Isle of Dead” by Arnold Böcklin This photo is the view from the entrance of the English Cemetery. I visited the cemetery in the afternoon, and I was the only visitor. Although it is next to busy streets there was a solemn silence. I had to look around and figure out what Böcklin saw when he had painted the Isle of Dead. It was as if I have entered the painting. The cypresses, the poetic birds singing, the smell of the flowers, the light-coloured graves. I had the fortune to visit this place in this period of the year to admire the blooming of the iris. These violet flowers covered the entire area of the cemetery. They bloomed near the tombs and near the walkways. The iris seemed like the people who had passed away wanted to keep in contact with the living. The spring is the season of the rebirth, and maybe this is a way to maintain a link with the dead. I like to think about it in this way. I looked up to the sky and it was like I started to see the brushstrokes of Arnold Böcklin. Was I daydreaming? Or was the unplanned high temperature combine with my low blood pressure to make me feel in another dimension? I was not able to answer to these questions, but my senses did not lie, they multiplied. The English cemetery gives a jump back in time between its graves. It was like a rare Victorian pearl in the middle of Florence. As said above the cemetery is full of beautiful monuments. One of the most curious and symbolic statues is a marble Death holding a sickle. This statue caught my attention because although it shows a classic figure linked to the death it is not so usual to see something like this in Italian cemetery. It was different from all the other statues. The Death held his sickle like a mariner held his oar in the middle of the sea. A statement began to echoes in my mind: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”. This statue reminded me Charon, the ferryman of Acheron in Dante’s Divina Commedia. I did not know if it was a mental journey of mine or if it was a link with this figure who ferry the souls of the damned. I felt like I had found the gates of hell. Dante had his Virgil to guide him, who did I have? I watched this statue for an undetermined amount of time and then I moved on exploring the cemetery.
