The Communal Monumental Cemetery of Campo Verano, commonly known as “Verano”, is a cemetery in Rome founded in the early nineteenth century. Because of its history, artistic heritage, and the presence of tombs of notable people, the Verano is considered an open-air museum and an incalculable treasure of history, art and culture.
I have a personal connection with this place (my family grave) and have had the chance to wander it many times. I became curious about the erased history of certain tombs who no longer possessed identification (who was there? What happened to them and the relatives?), but also I also became fascinated with how we seek to represent ourselves once we are no longer alive. Before photography was invented (1839), paintings and sculptures were the preferred medias of representation. Then, photography became mainstream, and only the wealthy could afford certain kinds of sculptures and memorial chapels. Death might be the great leveler, but the distinctions that were peculiar in our lives are still very much notable in the way we represent ourselves after we die.
