The Protestant Cemetery

Today's photos

1. The first century B.C. Pyramid-tomb of Gaius Cestius.

2. A striking view of one part of the cemetery.

3. The tombs of John Keats and Joseph Severn.

4. The tomb of Percy B. Shelley.

5. You might not expect to see this flag in a cemetery in Rome!

6. A close-up of the inscription of Thomas Jefferson Page.

7. The tomb of Antonio Gramsci.

8. A close-up of the inscription on the Gramsci tomb.

9. The entrance gate to the cemetery.

During the period of the Papal State, burial of non-Catholics within the city of Rome was forbidden. In 1716, however, Pope Clement XI Albani was persuaded by the Stuart family, ex royals of England in exile in Rome, to provide a small piece of land just outside the Aurelian walls to be used for non-Catholic burials.

A curiosity

What prompted the Stuarts to make this request of the Pope? It seems that an Englishman, 25 year-old George Langton, was killed when he was thrown from his horse and struck his head. Since the young man's family wished to bury him in Rome, they asked the Stuart family to use their influence with the Pope to permit the burial. Young Lamgton thus became the first person to be laid to rest in the cemetery in 1718. Over the years his tomb was lost but was re-discovered in 1929.

After the city of Rome fell to the Italian troops of unification and became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1870, the cemetery was greatly expanded. By 1918 it was considered to be a national monument, and today it is visited by thousands of people every year. It is referred to by several different names: The English Cemetery, The Protestant Cemetery and The non-Catholic Cemetery. And today it has a place in almost all the guidebooks of Rome . . . including mine, The Sights of Rome!

The cemetery was established just outside the ancient city walls erected in the third century by the emperor Aurelian (270-275).

A curiosity

The practice of burial “outside the walls” goes back all the way to the time of ancient Rome when burial within the walls was forbidden to everyone. This is why, for example, the early Christians established their cemeteries outside the walls. Today we know these ancient Christian burial places as the Catacombs.

One reason why it is a popular tourist destination is that it holds the tombs of several famous people including the English poets Keats (photo 3) and Shelley (photo 4), and Joseph Severn (photo 3), the English Consul in Rome from 1860-1872 who was a close friend of Keats. Also buried here is August Goethe, son of the famed German poet, and Antonio Gramsci (photos 7 & 8), the founder of the Italian Communist Party.

A curiosity

The curious fact about Gramsci's tomb is the grammatical error in the short Latin inscription at the bottom of the monument. It reads: “Cinera Antonii Gramscii” (the ashes of Antonio Gramsci), but the “cinera” should be “cineres”.

But aside from the famous tombs, people visit the cemetery because it is such a beautiful and peaceful place with an abundance of tall cypress and pine trees (photo 2). Despite the fact that it is located in a heavy traffic zone of the city, it is a place of almost total silence as it is protected from the noise on all sides by a high wall. People are also attracted by the tombs themselves, many of which are authentic works of art.

A curiosity

There are even a few Americans buried here. One of them is the naval officer Thomas Jefferson Page (photos 5 & 6), a southerner who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was one of several southerners who moved to Europe after the defeat of the Confederacy. The first time I saw his tomb there was a Confederate flag flying over it. Unfortunately, the flag has since been removed. Political correctness seems to be making inroads even in Rome!

A unique feature of this cemetery is the administration of it. It is under the patronage of fifteen foreign embassies in Rome, surely a diplomatic feat unequaled in the history of diplomacy! The embassies are, diplomatically in alphabetical order: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Practically a little United Nations in itself!

There is one tomb which is halfway inside and halfway outside the Aurelian walls. It is a monument known as the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius (photo 1), and it is not at all out of place in a cemetery because it was originally built as a tomb for this Roman official in the year 12 B.C. So we have the third-century Aurelian walls which literally incorporate the first century pyramid, thus leaving half of it inside the walls and the other half outside the walls.

There are many interesting tombstone inscriptions in this little cemetery, and in several different languages, as we would expect considering all the embassies involved. Here are just a few of my favorite ones. Were I still in Rome I would spend another day in the cemetery copying inscriptions!

Sit tibi terra levis (Latin)

May the ground upon you be light.

Sol me rapuit (Latin)

The sun has snatched me up.

Fermi stare qui significa salire (Italian)

Staying still here means climbing up.

Venni a Roma – Salì al cielo (Italian)

I came to Rome – I climbed to heaven.

Britannia! Mihi et meis patria carissima!

Cor, ut semper, meum, si non ossa contines! (Latin)

Britain! Very dear fatherland to me and mine!

You keep me heart, as always, if not my bones!

A curiosity

The most compact Latin inscription in the cemetery is seen above the monumental entrance gate (photo 9). It means: To those who are about to rise. But these seven English words are rendered in Latin by one word: Resurrecturis.

Both the pyramid and the cemetery are overlooked by most tourists, especially those who spend only a day or two in Rome, but it is well worth a visit the next time you find yourself in the Eternal City.