The Cimitero Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery) in Milan was one of the last places I visited during my Italy trip. Rome is renowned for its beautiful sculptures and I was sure the cemetery would be a treasure trove of stone & marble art work, just like Paris’s Montparnasse Cemetery.

The light was amazing that day with clear, beautiful blue skies, although from the pictures it’s hard to tell how frigidly cold the whole place was, as it was almost completely devoid of human activity. The perfect escape from the chaotic streets of Milan.

(above) I was quite transfixed by the serene look on the central figure and utterly amazed by the craftsmanship. So many of the sculptures in the cemetery were so life-like I half expected them to spring to movement.

(below) One of the many long corridors in the subterranean columbarium. Very moody.

(above) A beautiful mosaic fresco, one of many you’ll see in the cemetery.

(above) Now this exhibit was the queerest and most fascinating I saw in the cemetery. Encased in a glass display was what looks like the remains of a dried flowering plant, possibly a rose. It has expired a long time ago, but the containment has kept it safe from the elements and what remains resemble a sacred, biological relic. Not unlike something in a fantasy film, one you would imagine see in a Mike Mignola comic perhaps.

Milan was not my favourite among the places I visited in Italy ( that must go to Florence, and the Uffizi ), but this place was a sanctuary. The sculptures you see here are no less beautiful than those you can find in the more famous museums, and better still you won’t be jostled around by throngs of visitors with bad camera flash ethics. I love this place.