 von.otter's Rome Travelogues | | | |
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| Page Views: 144 Last Visit to Rome: May, 2007 | The Protestant Cemetery : “So Sweet a Place” by von.otter - last update: Mar 9, 2009 |
| von.otter at the grave of Keats, Rome, May 2007 |
K-eats! if thy cherished name be “writ in water”
E-ach drop has fallen from some mourner’s cheek;
A-ssured tribute; such as heroes seek,
T-hough oft in vain — for dazzling deeds of slaughter
S-leep on! Not honoured less for Epitaph so meek!
— This is the epitaph that is carved on a marble plaque hanging on the cemetery’s wall facing Keats’s grave
A YOUNGFUL DEATH—John Keats was 26 when he died in Rome. He had moved there from London in late 1820 with the hope that the warm climate would improve his health. He suffered from consumption, which claimed the lives of his mother and his brother Tom.
Living with his friend Joseph Severn in a house on the Spanish Steps, he was nursed by Severn and Dr. John Clark. The section of the Cimitero acattolico where he is buried is called parte antica. Severn, a portrait painter and British consul at Rome from 1861 till 1872, is buried next to his friend.
This Grave contains all that was Mortal of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET, Who on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone.
Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water. Feb 24th 1821.
— This is the epitaph on Keats's tombstone. The ‘Enemies’ referred to are the literary critics in England who were unkind to the poetry of Keats. |
| von.otter at the grave of Shelley, Rome, May 2007 |
|  | Like burnt-out torches by a sick man’s bed
Gaunt cypress-trees stand round the sun-bleached stone;
Here doth the little night-owl make her throne,
And the slight lizard show his jeweled head.
And, where the chaliced poppies flame to red,
In the still chamber of yon pyramid
Surely some Old-World Sphinx lurks darkly hid,
Grim warder of this pleasance of the dead.
Ah! sweet indeed to rest within the womb
Of Earth, great mother of eternal sleep,
But sweeter far for thee a restless tomb
In the blue cavern of an echoing deep,
Or where the tall ships founder in the gloom
Against the rocks of some wave-shattered steep.
“The Grave of Shelley” by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
EARTHLY GRAVE VS. WATERY GRAVE—Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned off the Italian Riviera in a shipwreck; he was cremated immediately following on the shore near Viareggio. His ashes were interred in the Cimitero acattolico; his heart, which his friend Edward John Trelawny had snatched from the flames, was kept by his widow Mary Shelley until her death and buried with her in Bournemouth, England. Trelawny is buried next to Shelley. |
“By virtue of an exclusive privilege, the Eternal City, the mysterious cement of two worlds, comprises in its monuments the whole history of the human race, under the double influence of Paganism and Christianity.”
From “Roba di Roma” 1866 by William Wetmore Story (1819-1895)
SPECIAL POSITION—The Angel of Grief was carved in 1894 by American sculptor William Wetmore Story for the grave of his wife, Emelyn. It was the last work Story created; he is also buried under this marker. Born in Salem, Mass., he moved to Italy in 1848.
The word roba in the title of Story’s book is an archaic Italian word meaning everything. Therefore the title translates, “Everything About Rome.”
Mr. Story dramatically expressed his emotions at the loss of his wife in this personal work. The angel's body has been abandoned totally to its pain and heartache. The flowers scattered at the base of the pedestal appear to have fallen from the angel's limp hand. Her wings are sadly curved emphasizing her grief to the point where even hope seems impossible. | | | Grave of W. W. Story & his wife, Emelyn, May 2007 |
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| Grave of Franklin Simmons & wife Ella, Rome, 05-07 |
| | “As in the heavens all the planets gravitate towards the sun; as on earth all the streams flow into the ocean; so, in the course of Divine Providence and human history, all the events of the ancient and modern world converge in Rome.”
From “Roba di Roma” 1866 by William Wetmore Story
The Angel of the Resurrection left was designed by the American sculptor Franklin Simmons (1842-1913) for the tomb of his second wife, Ella Slocum Bourne (1847-1905), the American widow of the German Baron von Jeinsen. Simmons is buried with her. His first wife, Emily, an Englishwoman, died in 1872 and is buried in a very modest grave in the Cimitero acattolico.
This angel expresses hope that there is life after death in the resurrection of Christ. |
“Shelley’s grave is here, buried in roses — a happy grave every way for the very type and figure of the Poet. Nothing could be more impenetrably tranquil than this little corner in the bend of the protecting rampart, where a cluster of modern ashes is held tenderly in the rugged hand of the Past. The past is tremendously embodied in the hoary pyramid of Caius Cestius, which rises hard by, half within the wall and half without, cutting solidly into the solid blue of the sky and casting its pagan shadow upon the grass of English graves — that of Keats, among them — with an effect of poetic justice.”
From “Italian Hours” 1909 by Henry James
JUSTICE IN THE AFTERLIFE—The five-acre graveyard dates to 1748, when papal land was donated as a final resting place for people who were not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground. Volunteers and a staff of eight keep the grounds clean and maintain the 2,520 graves. Since 1945 the graveyard has been run by a foundation. Citizens from Canada, Australia, Italy, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain, Russia, and the U.S. are buried here. | | | Grave Maker, Non-Catholic Cemetery, Rome 05/07 |
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| Grave Makers, Non-Catholic Cemetery, Rome 05/07 |
| | “At last, for the first time, I live! Rome beats everything: it leaves the Rome of your fancy, your education, nowhere. It makes Venice, Florence, Oxford, London, seem like little cities of pasteboard… For the first time I know what the picturesque is.”
— Henry James, “Letters of Henry James, Vol. 1 1843-1875” edited by Leon Edel, London Macmillan 1974
TRULY PICTURESQUE—This cemetery is among the most beautiful we have visited in our travels. The tall Cyprus trees reach to heaven; the grave markers create an outdoor sculpture garden. Being located outside the city center, it is removed from the noise; also it is not on the short list, nor even the long list, of tourist attractions, therefore it is blessedly quiet. Truly a place of peaceful rest.
August von Goethe (1789-1830), son of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, has been laid to rest here. The tombstone does not mention his name, but identifies him as Goethe filius! Such are the pitfalls to being the child of the famous.
Among the Americans buried here is Thomas Jefferson Page (1808-1899); he was the commander of United States Navy expeditions exploring the Rio de la Plata. |
"What shall I say of the modern city? Rome is yet the capital of the world. It is a city of palaces and temples, more glorious than those which any other city contains, and of ruins more glorious than they."
From a letter Percey Shelley wrote to a friend, T.L.P., Esq. dated 23.March.1819, Rome
Since 1910 the Cemetery has enjoyed special protection through a formal agreement with the then-Mayor of Rome, Ernesto Nathan because it is considered culturally important. And eight years later it was designated a Monumental Zone of National Interest (Zona Monumentale d’Interesse Nazionale). What with the remains of the likes of Keates and Shelley this status is well deserved. | | | Grave Makers, Cimitero acattolico, Rome 05/07 |
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| Grave of Devereux Cockburn, Rome, May 2007 |
| | Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Epitaph on Shelley's gravestone from Shakespeare's “The Tempest”
THE RICHNESS OF DEATH—John Keats was not the only foreigner who came to Rome hoping the Italian sun would restore his health. Devereux Plantagenet Cockburn is shown with his beloved dog and wrapped in a blanket on the monument to him above. The first-born son of Sir William Cockburn “was beloved by all who knew him, and most precious to his parents and family, who had sought his health in many foreign climes. He departed this life in Rome, aged 21 years.”
Although it is popularly known as the English Cemetery, or the Protestant Cemetery, Cimeterio acattolico (Non-Catholic Cemetery) is more accurate. For it is not only English Protestants who are buried here. The Holy Mother Church prohibited burial in consecrated ground to any acattolico, including the Orthodox below right, Protestants, Hebrews, as well as any who died by his own hand. |
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 Comments for von.otter about Rome | | | | |
icunme Sat Jul 11, 2009 16:26 UTC
Your Rome pages prompt study, especially liked the story of the geese. Am returning to the Museo Cap tomorrow and looking for many things I read on my tour w/you. Grazie for all your work! | hunterV Sat May 9, 2009 16:14 UTC
~~ Great places to visit! Wonderful description! Thanx!~~ | breughel Thu Apr 16, 2009 13:30 UTC
Interesting details on the architecture of the Pantheon. | daddygila Sun Mar 29, 2009 17:10 UTC
Absolutely wonderful info and pictures of Vatican gardens. Will be in Rome this Easter....can't wait ! |
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