Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/482

* CEMETERY. 412 CEMETERY. farther from iho lity wimc liiiil out the ceme- teries of Woking and Colney Hatch. Of the ecmeterif's still in use in Southern Europe, the catacombs of Sicily are the most remarkable. In one of these, near Palermo, un- der an old Capuchin monastery, there are four subterranean corridors, in which more than 2000 corpses are ranfjed in niches in the wall, many of them shrunk into the nmst grotes(iue atti- tudes, or hanging with ))endent heads or limbs from their receptacles. .s a ])reparation for its niche, the body is desiccated in an oven, and then dressed as in life and juit in its place in the wall. At one end of this cemetery there is an altar, strangely ornamented with a mosaic of human skulls and bones. Canipo xuiilo (holy field) is the Italian desig- nation for a cemetery or burj'ing-ground, but more especially for an inclosed place of inter- ment, surrounded internally by an arcade, and designed to receive the remains of persons of dis- tinction. The most famous campo santo, and that from which the others derived the name, is that of Pisa — in the ncigliborhood of the cathe- dral and leaning tower, and consecrated to the memory of men who hail deserved well of the republic. It was founded by Archbishop Ubaldo, toward the end of the Twelfth Century. The Archbishop, having been driven out of Palestine by Saladin, brought his fifty-three vessels, which had been destined for the conquest, laden with the earth of the Holy Land. This he dejiosited on the spot which was thence called the holy field, and which, as we have said, gave its name as a generic term to the buryinggrounds of Italy. The architect of the existing Iniilding was Gio- vanni Pisauo, under whose .superintendence it ■was completed in 1283. It contains an area of over 400 feet in length and 118 feet in breadth, and is surrounded by a lofty wall, on the inner side of which a wide arcade runs round the whole inclosure, giving to it the character of one magnificent cloister. At the smaller eastern side there is a large chapel, and two smaller chapels of smaller size on the northerlT side. The lofty circular arches of the arcade are filled with the richest Gothic tracery, which belongs, however, to a later date — the latter half of the Fifteenth Century — and consequently formed no part of the original design. The walls are adorned with frescoes which are of great interest and value, both absolutely and with reference to the historj' of art. The oldest of those which liave been preserved adorn one side of the eastern wall: they represent the passion of Christ. His resurrection, and other sacred subjects. These remarkable paintings are supposed to date from before the middle of the Fourteenth Century, and arc ascribed to BufTalmaeo. But the most mar- velous productions are those of Giotto, of Sinionc ilemmi, and of .Andrea ami Bernardo Orcagna. America closely followed England in the sani- tary reform of biirial-jilaces. and many years ago burial within certain limits of cities was pro- hibited except in special cases, such as the u.se of private vaults in churchyards. Within the limits of Greater Xew York, however, in the ter- ritory included in the Borough of Queens, and <inee forming the town of Xewtown, there are. it has been estimated. 1800 acres of cemeteries, covering one-tenth part of a district which con- tains 25.000 living inhabitants and the remains of 1,000,000 dead. The United States has more beautiful ceme- teries than any other country. Conspicuous among these are the great national cemeteries located in a few Northern and many Soulbern cit- ies, for the burial of soldiers, especially those who were killed in the Civil War. The oldest and one of the most beautiful of the great ceme- teries in the United Statt'S is Mount Auburn, near Boston. Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadel- phia, was opened in 18.'S(j. It is on the Schuyl- kill Kiver, about four miles north of the centre of the city, and is part of a regiim of great beauty. This was followed by llrccnwood Ceme- tery, the first and one of the largest burial-places for New York and Brooklyn, established by a company chartered in 1838. The grounds occupy a fine situation on the east side of New York Bay about three miles south of the city hall in Brooklyn. From the higher points of the ccme- leiy, the eye takes in New York and Brooklyn, the bay, half a dozen cities in New Jersey, the far-off Palisades, the broad lower bay, the High- lands near Saiuly Hook, Coney Island, and a grand view of the Atlantic Ocean. Lake View Cemetery, at Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the cele- brated places of interment in the interior States, and contains the Garlicld mausoleum. The site of a cemetery is a matter of ex- treme importance. It should be situated as far as possible from any populous locality, in order that it may not interfere with the needs of the living, and so may remain undisturbed for the greatest possible length of time. The soil should be light and porous, permitting abundant en- trance of water and accompanying air, to expe- dite decomjiositicm. There should be good, natu- ral undcrdrainage, but care should be taken that the drainage from cemeteries does not di-scharge directly into drinking-waters. The frequent ))roxinuty of cemeteries and reservoir sites is a fact to be deprecated. There should be strict municipal regulation of the depth and distance apart at which graves may be dug. The owner- ship of cemeteries is divided among mimieipali- tics, churches, and private corporations. In the Continental cities municipal ownership of ceme- teries is the rule, although there are some private cemeteries, especially in (iermany and Holland. In some cities, as Cologne. Naples. Dresden, and Rome, the management of funerals is also eon- trolled by the municipality, the result being to deci'case greatly burial expenses. British towns usually have municipal cemeteries, but most of them are old and little used, the newer burial- grounds being privately owned. ^Manchester. Nottingham, and several other of the larger towns have very recently taken steps to provide adequate municipal cemeteries. In the United States the largest and most popular cemeteries are usually owned by private corporations. About half of the cities having a population of over 2.5,000 own cenu>teries, but in all but fifteen of these there are also private cemeteries. The city of Boston is a notable ex- ception to the general rule, controlling, as it does, many cemeteries. In 1897 it created a cemetery department, consisting of a commission of five trustees appointed by the mayor. It employs a superintendent at a salary of .$2500. who keeps all records of burials and transfers. For infor- mation about ancient burial-places, .see Necroi'-