Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe: July 2012

The Laorca Cemetery (Lecco, Italy)

The Laorca Cemetery represents a particular example of a historic, landscaped cemetery and it is considered a national monument.

About the cemetery

The cemetery of Laorca is located in the Laorca district, north of Lecco, at the foot of Mount S. Martino, along the Gerenzone River, in the cradle of the Lecchese steel industry.

The environment is highly suggestive. At the foot of the Corno Medale stands a sort of natural amphitheater, created in a rocky spur and fraught with caves and ravines. The site holds the cemetery, several private chapels dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, the ancient cemetery church of San Giovanni ai Morti and the chapels in Via Crucis.

In the early 1900s the industrial families of the zone chose this site to build their private chapels and monumental tombs in an eclectic style that melds classical features with the imposing features of Art Nouveau.

As a whole, the area of the Laorca Cemetery could be defined as a Sacromonte (a sacred mountain), that was considered for centuries a devotional site. The terraces enjoy a splendid view of the city of Lecco and the lake.

The Laorca Cemetery - view of the cemetery from the upper terrace

Events at the cemetery

Many events regularly take place at the cemetery. Some of those are, for example, the guided tour and the theatre performance and concert at night that took place in 2012.

Address

The Laorca Cemetery
Via Crogno
23900 Lecco
Italy

Basic Information

Graves: 700
Private chapels: 14

The Monumental Cemetery of Lecco (Lecco, Italy)

The Monumental Cemetery of Lecco was inaugurated in 1882 and today it represents a real open-air museum.

About the cemetery

Based on a project by the engineer Enrico Gattinoni, the Monumental Cemetery of Lecco was inaugurated in 1882.

The fields designated as municipal burial grounds are flanked on three sides by private chapels, all joined by a walkway.

The lovely neo-gothic portico is an elegant exception to the dominating neoclassical style of the funerary architecture. On the far side, an octagonal oratorio stands at the center topped by a pavilion vault. In 1901 the entrance atrium and facade (by engineer Cesare Mazzocchi) was built in the Art Nouveau style.

An open-air museum

A wealth of sculptures commissioned in the late 1800s and early 1900s by acclaimed artists adorn the area, artists whose works can be found in the piazzas and cemeteries of Lecco and throughout Lombardy. Some of them are: F. Confalonieri, G. Branca, E. Bazzaro, C. Da Nova, L. Broggi, D. Barcaglia, P. Clerci, E. Agnati, R. Lainati, M.Vedani, A. Montegani, G. Castiglioni, F. Modena, L.Panzeri.

In the late 1900s, R. Rui, R. Piter, and P. Atchugarry worked beside such artists, Lecchese by adoption, as G. Mozzanica, R. Pedroli, G. De Candido, L.Milani, F. Simoncini, who sought infinite plastic, iconographic and material variations within the area of classic traditions.