Remembering the passed

Tributes to the dead are everywhere.

I'd forgotten how dedicated Italians are to honoring their friends and relatives who have died. Walking around the shores of Lake Iseo I've been surprised by the number of cemeteries I've stumbled across. Most of them feature walls of tributes to Italians long-since and more recently passed.  The cemeteries are always compact and vibrant with flowers, a surprising number of which are fresh.  While I never ran into another human being at any of these quiet oases, the carefully placed fresh flowers and other offerings made it clear that these parted souls are not forgotten and are most certainly missed.

Maybe it's because I'm still reeling from the loss of my favorite person on the planet. Or maybe because on this trip I find myself thinking so much about Felix. Or maybe I can imagine Felix and his willingness to approach such places with respect and wonder. Whatever it is, I've taken a great deal of comfort wandering these places of the passed.

Floral wall

Entire walls seem alive with the beauty of flowers.

Subterranean tribute

A new take on buried underground, these walkways were underground and open to the sky.  It helped create quiet in a busy world.

Crosses and markers

Other areas of the cemetery featured what I think of as more traditional Catholic head stones.

Mementos

Everywhere you go, people have left small objects as gifts.  And almost every tomb features and electrified glass torch.  I'd like an entire garden of these.

Nomi Italiani

Reading the names on all of the tombstones revealed a multitude of fun-to-say Italian names.

Future guests

I wondered for some time what happens when someone new needs a place until I entered this cemetery and found entire walls that were just beginning to be filled.