Isle of the dead

The slightly cloudy morning cleared to a lovely day as we walked to the English Cemetery at Piazzale Donatello this morning, a half hour 1.8km stroll. 

The cemetery was established for the Swiss community and was situated in the countryside outside the Porta a Pinti. It came to be used by other nationalities (and Protestants) as well.As the city of Florence expanded, the gate and that section of wall were dismantled. A number of major roads entered the city at this point and they were constructed around the Cemetery, which became an island, hence it is now known as 'the isle of the dead'. Cars, buses, trucks and foot traffic sweep around the cemetery daily - it's a very busy place. 

A number of notable people are buried here, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning (below). There is also a large monument for a past King of Prussia (above). We spent an hour wandering the paths and reading those inscriptions that were still legible. There are a variety of interesting headstones among what one usually sees from earlier centuries. One was a large anchor and rope, which surely indicated that the person resting there was a man of the sea. There were also some grotesque statues, including death with his scythe. 

The cemetery no longer accepts interments, we read, but memorial stones are allowed. 

We signed the visitor's book as we left through the gatehouse, but could not see a donation box anywhere. We thought this odd as the graves and grounds are maintained by volunteers.

We enjoyed a short break in the little park across one of the roads that ring the Cemetery, people watching, before going on our way. We walked back a lightly different way and stopped off in a little caffetteria for tea/coffee and a pastry.

At Via Alessandro Volta, we continued straight ahead to Le Cure, where we dropped into the Coop to collect a few things for the apartment.