Italian-American Gravestones

  

 

Rocco Siciliano, 1885-1925 Hermitage, Pennsylvania

“One distinctive aspect of the Italian American cemeteries is the ceramic photo images imbedded into memorial stones. […] One writer commented that it was good that few Italian Americans could afford such stone portraits. He stated that if ‘there was much of this, our burial grounds would become ghostly indeed.’ […] Another writer noted that the photographic portrait was ‘not merely the likeness’ of the deceased. It was ‘the very shadow of the person lying there fixed forever!’ These memorials became a staple in the cemeteries of other ethnic groups from eastern and southern Europe, no matter what their religion.” – Meg Green, Rest in Peace: A History of American Cemeteries

Vincenza Piccini headstone, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

Many Italian Americans made Western Pennsylvania their home at the turn of the 20th century when the coal mines and steel mills were flourishing. I’ve explored two of these cemeteries, though I’m sure there are many others for me to discover! These are Economy Cemetery in Ambridge, PA and St. Anthony/St. Rose/Italian Cemetery in Hermitage, PA.

Left and Center: A priest and Anna Popik, both in Ambridge. Right: Anna Wesko, Hermitage.

Both cemeteries not only include the Italian American grave stones with ceramic photographs, but also those of Eastern European families, such as Ukranian or Slovak. (I’m really only good with the Italian translations, so if I’m wrong about the ethnicity of those stones, let me know.) Because these two ethnic groups arrived in the States around the same time, worked the same types of jobs, and were generally treated the same by the larger American population, the two groups of immigrants often stuck together, forming Italian-Slovak societies, interchanging customs, and intermarrying.

Left and Center: A Slovak girl and Antonio Incerto, both in Hermitage. Right: Ibah Aennhko in Ambridge.

Today, having a photograph mounted to a gravestone is rather common. Some people even have their image laser etched onto the marble itself (which in my opinion can look a little creepy, and I can’t imagine what it will look like if the stone begins to wear). At the turn of the century, however, ceramic grave photographs were mostly confined to the Italian and Eastern European cultures. For historians and genealogists, the photographs offer a unique opportunity to see photographs from the early 20th century and match them up with the names and ages of who they belong to.  

Two very similar gravestones in Ambridge, PA. Silvia Lepre (left) and Maria Palladini (right)

Most of the gravestones that have ceramic photographs belong to children or young men and women. One explanation is that parents were more likely to endure the extra expense of the ceramic photograph as a result of their grief of losing a loved one “before their time.” Another explanation might be that a large number of children and young people died during the the time period when ceramic photographs were most popular (1900-1940) due to disease or tragic event. I suppose I’ll just have to do more research on that topic.

Antonio Catanzariti (left) and Bettina Rinaldi (center) in Ambridge. Francesca Paola Perry (right) in Hermitage.

One creepy part of looking at ceramic gravestone photographs is the occurance of post-mortem images. Most of the time, post-mortem images are of infants and children, so if the image of dead babies disturbs you, beware. Most of the time, the photographs are studio photographs taken by a professional photographer in a prepared setting. And most of the time, the children are photographed to look as though they are sleeping. (Mourning or Memorial Cabinet Cards were also popular in the mid to late 19th century. Search for some on Flickr to see some.) Why in the world would a parent allow their lifeless child to be photographed in such a way? I’m sure every reason is different, but one probable reason is that they were too young to have their picture taken in life.

WARNING: The following are some photos that may or may not be post mortem.

A brother and sister (left) in Ambridge. Sisters Angiolina (center) and Margretta Santelli (right) in Hermitage.

The cemetery in Patrica, Italy.

Recently, my husband and I travelled to Patrica, Frosinone, Italy. Patrica is the town where most Italian American immigrants settling in Ambridge, PA originated. My own paternal grandparents are from there. The cemetery in Patrica is very different that most cemeteries in the United States and even in other places in Italy. No one is interred in the ground. Instead, everyone is buried in the walls, and the walls are built up upon different levels of a hill. The owners of the plot do not own it outright, but instead rent or lease it for maybe 80 years… the family has the opportunity to renew their lease and bury other family members there. Sometimes, bones are moved to a smaller plot, and when the bones are completely deteriorated, they are removed and discarded in some fashion, though I’m not exactly sure how. All I know is that the oldest grave in Patrica was maybe 1908 or so.

The burial plot of the Ferrari family, Patrica, Italy

The gravestones of the Patrica cemetery nearly all had ceramic photographs, although often time there were more names engraved on a stone than photographs. There is a greater occurance of photographs of elderly people, but there also was a lot of post mortem infant photographs as well that dated into the 1960s. Another thing about the Italian graves was that many of the post mortem photographs were not made to look as though they were asleep at all. In fact, some of the children in photographs had their eyes open.