Guided tours of the monumental cemetery of Alessandria

Alessandria | Cultural

From 7 April 2024 to 13 October 2024

Description

PLEASE NOTE
The visit of the Monumental Cemetery of Alessandria scheduled for Sunday 6 October has been postponed to Sunday 13 October (further information will follow on the program).

The Monumental Cemetery of Alessandria is a real open-air museum and could be defined "Cultural Landscape": this is the profound meaning of the proposal offered by the Alessandria branch of Italia Nostra which has obtained positive recognition from the City of Alessandria, together with "Cimiteri Alessandrini s.r.l." the management company behind the cemetery services and the Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Office for the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo.

The first cycles of free cultural tours of the monumental cemetery have gained increasing popularity with growing numbers and have also been accompanied by in-depth lectures: for this reason they will continue within the scope of the agreement of the program approved by the City of Alessandria which aims to enhance the Monumental Cemetery of Alessandria as "Cultural Landscape".

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH, starting from Sunday 7 APRIL until Sunday 6 OCTOBER, the tours, as always free and open to all, will start at 4 pm with meeting at the main entrance and will follow the itinerary prepared to mark the documentary exhibition "Eternità ed Eclettismo: storia, arte e architettura del cimitero monumentale di Alessandria" organised by the State Archive of Alessandria in association with the City of Alessandria and the local branch of Italia Nostra for "Domenica di Carta" 2023, the day the Ministry of Culture dedicates to visits to Libraries and State Archives.

Furthermore, Italia Nostra is open to requests for cultural tours from schools, agencies and institutions with which to work out specific dedicated routes based on educational, training or institutional needs of individual applicants, because the goal of the tours is to increase the knowledge of the cultural heritage of the city formed by the "Monumental" and to encourage the active participation of the city in the work of enhancing the cultural aspect of the cemetery.

THE MONUMENTAL CEMETERY OF ALESSANDRIA INSERTED INTO THE “ATLANTE DEI CIMITERI ITALIANI” /ATLAS OF ITALIAN CEMETERIES

The current edition of the “Atlante dei cimiteri Italiani” presented at the “TANEXPO” book fair in Bologna from 4 to 6 April 2024, has added the monumental cemetery of Alessandria;

A fact file is present for each cemetery which includes the opening hours, geographical location, curiosities, useful addresses, a short description of the site, a selection of monuments and tombs of particular historical-artistic relevance, also indicated on the map, and a selection of monuments and sites of the city which have connections with those identified inside the cemetery.

Eight sites of the Monumental Cemetery of Alessandria are published in the book and they refer to the tombs of well-known families and key figures of the town: the composer and musician Pietro Abbà Corngalia in connection with Palazzo Cuttica of Cassine, site of the “Antonio Vivaldi” music conservatory; the Borsalino family in connection with the “Borsalino Museum”; the artist Rodolfo Gambini whose tomb was embellished with a statue by the sculptor Attilio Strada author of the monument erected in memory of the Swiss Grand Prix driver Carlo Pedrazzini in via Pistoia; the industrialist Angelo Verzetti whose portrait is found in the Picture Gallery of the University Hospital of Alessandria “SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” of which he was the benefactor; the Risorgimento patriot Andrea Vochieri in connection with the Citadel which is home to his prison cell; the Guerci family in connection with the homonymous gallery located between via San Giacomo della Vittoria and Via San Lorenzo; the Civaglieri Inviziati Sappa family, in memory of Carlo Inviziati, first patron of the well-known sculptor from Alessandria Carlo Caniggia, author of the bas-relief depicting “Alessandria che premia le Belle Arti” located in the Town Hall Council Chamber; finally, the Valizone family in connection with the City Cathedral.