Cimitero dei Cappuccini, Cemetery in Palermo, Italy

The Cimitero dei Cappuccini is an open-air monumental cemetery laid out from the mid-19th century beside the Capuchin convent, the catacombs and the church of Santa Maria della Pace on Piazza Cappuccini in Palermo. Its lanes are lined with family chapels and funeral monuments designed by architects and sculptors such as Antonio Ugo and Domenico De Lisi.

The cemetery was laid out from the mid-19th century, when new sanitary regulations banned burials inside churches and the Capuchin catacombs. Its chapels and funerary monuments were designed by architects and sculptors including Antonio Ugo and Domenico De Lisi. Among those buried here are the politician and patriot Michele Amari and the magistrate Pietro Scaglione; Francesco Crispi lay here until his transfer to San Domenico on 12 January 1905.

The cemetery holds the tombs of Francesco Crispi, president of the Council of the Kingdom of Italy, and of Pio La Torre, the trade unionist and politician killed in 1982. The writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, prince of Lampedusa, was buried here until his remains were moved to San Domenico in March 2024. The Latvian psychologist Alexandra von Wolff-Stomersee, his wife, also lies here.

The cemetery lies in piazza Cappuccini, beside the convent, the catacombs and the church of Santa Maria della Pace. It is an open-air ground of family chapels and funeral monuments, so plan to walk among them rather than through underground passages. Look for the marble Cappella Ugo delle Favare, later of the marchesi Salvo di Pietraganzili, one of the largest chapels here.

The cemetery holds the tomb of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author of The Leopard, who was buried here in 1957; his remains were moved to the church of San Domenico in March 2024. The painter Lia Pasqualino Noto (1909–1998) and the magistrate Pietro Scaglione (1906–1971) also lie here.