VERANO

Construction of "Campo Verano" at basilica S.Lorenzo fuori le mura, was began during the Napoleonic domination, continued in 1837 and finished in 1870. The municipal cemetery grew on the site of the estate of the emperor Lucius Verus (from who's surname derives the name of the cemetery). It was designed by G.Valadier in 1807-1812. V.Vespignani is an author of the monumental entrance to the cemetery, with the four big statues erected here in 1874-1878 and a quadriporticus. Nevertheless the cemetery was open on July 1, 1836, and all the people died in Rome after this date had to be buried in Campo Verano.

Every Roman knows Campo Verano, the monumental cemetry of rome. Originally the estate of Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius from 161 to 169, Campo Verano was designated as Rome's municipal cemetery when Napoleon and his minions were running things Italian in the early nineteenth century. It took decades to build; the idea, a grandiose one, was that everyone who died in Rome would be buried there after it was opened on July 1, 1836. This being Italy, it took a while to complete the original plans - the great gates to the cemetery were only finished in 1878.

Campo Verano occupies an enormous tract of land, some three times the size of Vatican City. The gated entrance is a good stone's throw from the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls; Blessed Pius IX is buried there in a memorial chapel whose mosaics are well worth a look. Once you're a few hundred yards inside Campo Verano, you can't see the cemetery's boundaries in any direction.

Monuments, mausoleums, family tombs, and even individual gravesites vie for splendor and bella figura. There's a very mixed population here - a little past the entrance, you can look up a gravel path to the tomb of Garibaldi. Yet as you continue along a seemingly infinity of paths, up and down hills and through small valleys, you'll also find squadrons of cardinals and other high-ranking clerics. Politicians, movie stars, literary people, and ordinary Romans long forgotten to history are all here; you can actually get to know many of them from the photos or etchings that you find on their tombstones.

SOME FAMOUS PERSONS
That was buried in Verano

Aleramo, Sibilla b. August 14, 1876 d. January 13, 1960
Writer. Born Rina Faccio, her first novel, "A Woman," published in 1906 and republished in 1973, is a harrowing autobiography telling the story of her escape from a forced marriage to a man who had raped her and of her struggle to live independently as a woman and a writer at the beginning of the twentieth century. Other works include "Diary of a Woman," "Moving and Being," "The Crossing" and "Letters."


Amendola, Ferruccio b. July 22, 1930 d. September 3, 2001
Actor, dubber. The nephew of director/writer Mario Amendola, he made his cinema debut in the early 1930s. After years of revue stage, cinema and TV, he devoted himself almost exclusively to dubbing and he gave his voice to some of the biggest male stars in Hollywood; including Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the Italian versions of their movies. He also dubbed Sylvester Stallone in the "Rocky" and "Rambo" films and Bill Cosby in his long-running television comedy show.


Bertini, Francesca b. April 11, 1892 d. October 13, 1985
Actress. Born Elena Seracini Vitiello. Described as one of the first divas of cinema. She made her film debut in 1907 with "La Dea del Mare". With the movies "Lucrezia Borgia," "Giulietta e Romeo," and "L'arrivista," Her popularity obtained gigantic dimensions as they are hardly imaginable today. In 1921 she married the Swiss banker Paul Cartier and she retired from the film business.


Cagiano de Azevedo, Ottavio b. November 7, 1845 d. July 11, 1927
Roman Catholic Cardinal. A native of Frosinone, near Veroli, he studied at the Seminary of Grottaferrata. He was ordained priest, on September 1868. From 1868 to 1874, he did pastoral work in Rome. In 1874, he became Canon of the patriarchal Liberian basilica, in Rome and fourteen years later, in 1886, he took the same function for the patriarchal Vatican basilica. He was made Master of the Papal Chamber, in 1892 and Papal Majordomo, on May 29, 1901. Pope Pius X created him cardinal.


Carotenuto, Mario b. June 29, 1915 d. April 14, 1995
Italian Actor. Among his films are "Pane, Amore e..." (1955), "Il Segreto Delle Rose" (1958), "Pan, Amor y... Andalucía" (1959), "Il Mattatore" (1960), "Satyricon" (1968), "Boccaccio" (1972) and "Romanzo di un Giovane Povero" (1995), his last film.


Corbucci, Sergio b. December 6, 1927 d. December 1, 1990
Film director. He started his career as a film critic, moved on to assistant director to, among others, Roberto Rossellini, then finally began directing in the early 1950s. Most famous for his contributions to the 'Spaghetti Western genre,' he is fondly remembered for directing films such as "Minnesota Clay," "Django," "The Great Silence" and "Two Colonels." (Bio by: MC)
Cimitero di Campo Verano, Rome, Lazio, Italy

De Filippo, Eduardo b. May 24, 1900 d. October 31, 1984
Actor and playwright. Fondly remembered in films such as: "Three Girls from Rome," "Side Street Story" and "The Gold of Naples," with Silvana Mangano and Totò.


De Filippo, Peppino b. August 24, 1903 d. January 27, 1980
Actor. Brother of actor Eduardo De Filippo, he made his stage debut at the age of six. He played in films such as: "Rome-Paris-Rome," "Variety Lights," "A Day in Court" and "Ferdinand I, King of Naples."


De Sica, Vittorio b. July 7, 1901 d. November 13, 1974
Italian Actor and Motion Picture Director. He is considered one of the most important Italian directors of all times, the founder of Italian Neorrealism. As an actor, he appeared in almost 150 films, such as "Pane, Amore e Fantasia" (1953), "Il Bigamo" (1956), "Il Generale Della Rovere" (1959), "Io,Io,Io...e Gli Altri" (1965) and "Il Delitto Matteotti" (11973). As director is remembered for "Ladri di Biciclette" (1948), "Miracolo a Milano" (1951), "Umberto D." (1952), "Stazione Termini" (1953)


Deledda, Grazia b. September 27, 1871 d. August 15, 1926
Writer. The first Italian woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. She published her first story in 1886 when she was fifteen. Author of thirty-three novels and many books of short stories, almost all of them set in Sardinia. Among her better-known works are "Elias Portolu," "Reeds in the Wind" and "Cosima."


Fabrizi, Aldo b. January 1, 1905 d. April 2, 1990
Italian Actor, Writer and Director. He appeared as actor in films such as "Roma, Città Aperta" (1945), "Vivere in Pace" (1947), "Vita da Cani" (1950), "Guardie e Ladri" (1951), "Parigi è Sempre Pariggi" (1952), "El Maestro" (1957), "The Angel Wore Red" (1960), "Totò Contra I 4" (1963) and "Nerone" (1977).


Ferrara, Franco b. July 4, 1911 d. September 7, 1985
Acclaimed Conductor, Composer. Highly influencial and regarded as conductor and musical director on scores of motion pictures.


Gaetano, Rino b. October 29, 1950 d. June 2, 1981
Italian Singer. He was born Salvatore Antonio Gaetano in Crotone and died in Roma. His first work "Ingresso Libero" in 1974. He triumphed with his songs Aida, Gianna and Nuntereggaepiù. Others LP's are "Mio fratello è figlio unico" and "E io ci sto" (1980), his last work.
Cause of death: Car accident


Gallone, Carmine b. September 18, 1886 d. April 4, 1973
Actor, Poet, Playwright. Married to Polish-born actress Soava, he began his professional career in 1911. He directed the violently anti-fascist film "Before Him All Rome Trembled"(1946). Among his most acclaimed work is "Casta diva" (1935) "Scipione l'Africano" (1937) "Carthage In Flames" (1954) and "Her Wonderful Lie"(1950).


Gallone, Soava b. 1880 d. May 30, 1957
Actress. Born Soava Winaver in Warsaw (Poland) wife of Italian motion-picture director, Carmine Gallone. Gallone starred in "Avator," (1915) "Mother Doll," (1919) "Cabiria" (1914) and "Celle Qui Domine." (1927)


Gassman, Vittorio b. September 1, 1922 d. June 29, 2000
Renowned stage and screen Italian actor. He appeared in more than 100 films.


Girotti, Massimo b. May 18, 1918 d. January 5, 2003
Italian Actor. Before entering films in 1939 Girotti was a successful engineering student and polo and swimming star. From 1939 to 2000 he appeared in over 117 motion pictures. His films include, "Desiderio" (1943), "Ossessione" (1943), "The Gate Of Heaven" (1946), "Sins Of Role" (1952), "Teorema" (1968), "L'Innocente" (1976), and "The Berlin Affair" (1989).


Lurio, Don b. November, 1927 d. January 26, 2003
Actor, Dancer, choreographer. Born Donald Benjamin Lurio in Bronx, New York. Lurio worked with choreographer Jerome Robbins and on Broadway before moving to Italy in the 1950s. He created many of the dance numbers in the "Saturday Evening" variety shows that were popular in the 1960s and are still a mainstay of Italy's showgirl-filled television fare today. The legendary American-italian-adopted choreographer Lurio, helped define the style of Italy's televised variety shows.


Manfredi, Nino b. March 22, 1921 d. June 4, 2004
Actor. He was an Italian film star who appeared in some of the finest Italian comedies of the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in over 100 productions in a 54-year screen career that began in 1949. He was perhaps the last of the great actors of an unrepeatable period of the Italian cinema. Born Saturnino Manfredi, he graduated in law, but soon moved to acting. He started his career as a stage actor, and soon he shifted to the big screen, where he became a mainstay in many "commedia all'italiana".

Mastroianni, Marcello b. September 28, 1924 d. December 19, 1996
Movie actor who starred in more then 120 films ("La Dolce Vita," "8 1/2"). Very often in the title role with Sophia Loren. He was discovered by famed director Federico Fellini.
Cause of death: Heart failure after long disease


Momo, Alessandro b. November 25, 1953 d. November 20, 1974
Italian Actor. He began his career in 1970 with the film "Appuntamento col Disonore." After the release of his most famous film "Profumo di Amore," he died in a motorcycle accident. He also appeared in "La Polizia è al Servizio del Cittadino?" (1973), "Peccato Veniale" (1973) and "Malizia" (1973).


Moravia, Alberto b. November 28, 1907 d. September 26, 1990
Writer. Born Alberto Pincherle, he was a major figure in the 20th-century Italian literature. In the 1930s he worked as a foreign correspondent for several major Italian newspapers and he travelled in the U.S., Poland, China, Mexico, and other countries. His works were censored by Mussolini's government, and placed by the Vatican on the 'Index librorum prohibitarum' (Index of Forbidden Books). Several of his books have been filmed.


Morelli, Rina b. December 6, 1908 d. July 17, 1976
Italian motion-picture actress. She is fondly remembered for her acclaimed roles in films such as: "Strange Deception," Luchino Visconti’s "The Wanton Countess" and "The Leopard," with Burt Lancaster.


Nazzari, Amedeo b. December 10, 1907 d. November 7, 1979
Motion-picture actor. Italian leading man fondly remembered in Fellini’s "Nights of Cabiria," with Giulietta Masina. Other credits include: "The Best of Enemies," with David Niven.


Nguyên Van Thuân, François-Xavier b. April 17, 1928 d. September 16, 2002
Roman Catholic Cardinal. Born in Huê, Vietnam, he was the nephew of Ngo Dinh Diem, president of the former Republic of South Viêt Nam, who was assasinated in 1963. Numerous members of his family suffered martyrdom because of their faith.He studied first at the Minor Seminary of Huê, then at the Major Seminary in this same city before going to Rome. He was ordained priest on June 11, 1953, in Huê. He did pastoral work, from 1953 to 1955, then went to Rome for further studies,from 1955 to 1959.


Pavan, Rev. Pietro b. August 30, 1903 d. December 26, 1994
Italian religious figure, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of Treviso, he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, where he obtained doctorates in philosophy and theology, and at the University of Padova, where he received a doctorate in economics. He ordained priest, on July 8, 1928.He was a faculty member of the Seminary of Treviso, from 1933 to 1946. In 1946, he became Ecclesiastical counselor of the Catholic Institute of Social Activity, in Rome.


Petrolini, Ettore b. January 13, 1886 d. June 29, 1936
Actor, comedian. Fondly remembered for variety and satirical sketches, in which he parodied both contemporary and historical figures such as Hamlet, Nero and Faust. Also remembered for his sophisticated satire on Mussolini that, it is said, the dictator himself allowed to pass censorship.


Pilotto, Camillo b. February 6, 1890 d. May 27, 1963
Actor. Born and Died in Rome, Italy. Appeared in "Vecchia Signora, La" (The Old Lady) (1932), "Lorenzo de Medici" (The Magnificent Rogue) (1935), "Giuseppe Verdi" (The Life of Giuseppe Verdi) (1935), "Oltr l'amore" (1940), "Derniers jours de Pompei, Les" (The Last Days of Pompeii) (1948), "Giuseppe Verdi" (The Life and Music of Giuseppe Verdi) (1957), and "Marco Polo" (1961).


Rossellini, Roberto b. May 8, 1906 d. June 3, 1977
Italian Motion Picture Director. He was the father of Italian Neorrealism. He is remembered for film such as "Roma, Città Aperta" (1945), "Paisà" (1946), "Germania, Anno Zero" (1947), "La Macchina Ammazzacattivi" (1948), "Stromboli" (1949), "Viaggio in Italia" (1953), "La Paura" (1954), "Viva l'Italia" (1960), "Anno Uno" (1974) and "Il Mesia" (1976). He was married with actress Ingrid Bergman from 1950 to 1957.


Sordi, Alberto b. June 15, 1920 d. February 25, 2003
Italian motion-picture actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he began as a dubber, most remembered as Oliver Hardy's voice in the Italian version of the Laurel and Hardy series. Some of his most memorable leading roles include his portrayal of a peace-loving fascist officer in "The Best of Enemies"


Ungaretti, Giuseppe b. February 10, 1888 d. June 1, 1970
Author. Born in Alexandria in Egypt to Italian parents, In 1912 he moved to Paris, where he met leading figures from Parisian culture and a number of Italian writers living in France. The collection "The Sorrow," published in 1947, is dedicated to his 9 years old son's death and in the same time he reflects on the tragedy of the World War II. Other important poems are: "Promised earth," published in 1950; "A cry and landscapes," published in 1952; "Old man's notebook," published in 1960.


Visconti, Luchino b. November 2, 1906 d. March 17, 1976
Italian film, stage and opera director. Among his film's are "Rocco And His Brothers" (1960), "The Leopard" (1963), "The Damned" (1969), "Death In Venice" (1971), and "Conversation Piece" (1975). He was also an accomplished opera director, working with such acts as soprano Maria Callas.