Visiting a graveyard may not be your favorite pastime when on vacation, but the (really) Monumental Cemetery of Milan is one not to miss. The mortuary monuments of the graves of famous Milanese families were produced by the best sculptors and artists since the opening of the cemetery (1866). A large variety of death themes and styles can be found: the door set ajar, the subterranean, grieving figures, allegorical representations.
Real works of art can be admired here in an atmosphere of serene silence: the Liberty-style tomb of Arturo Toscanini (which also houses the body of Vladimir Horowitz ), the spectacular Besenzanica tomb and an entire reproduction of Leonardo’s Last Supper at the Campari tomb (just in case you might fail to obtain tickets for the real one). In the Famedio (Pantheon) you’ll find the much visited grave of Alessandro Manzoni and the tombs of many other famous Italians.
A particularity of the cemetery is that it has always been open for different beliefs: there is a Jewish department and a cremation “temple” .