Urban cemetery of Monza, Monumental cemetery in Monza, Italy

The Urban Cemetery of Monza is a large burial ground in the city featuring hundreds of graves, monuments, and sculptures arranged along paved pathways and among landscaped green spaces. The site contains different burial types, from simple tombs to elaborate family mausoleums built with regional marble and stone.

In 1911 Monza decided to build a larger cemetery outside the city centre, as the old San Gregorio cemetery by the Lambro had become insufficient and the station's railway yards and the suburban tram network were expanding. A competition awarded the project to Ulisse Stacchini, whose design was markedly monumental; works lasted several years and were completed only in 1930. The opening closed San Gregorio, whose old church was left standing.

The cemetery shows how local families have chosen to honor and remember their departed through carefully designed monuments and inscriptions. You can walk through different sections and notice the personal touches people have added to their family tombs over time.

The cemetery stands on Viale Ugo Foscolo in Monza's eastern outskirts, a site chosen in 1911 partly because the railway station's tracks and the suburban tram network were expanding. The grounds lie on one level, so walking is straightforward; allow time to reach the monuments by Bazzaro, Cibau, Castiglioni and Pancera.

The cemetery holds one of the rare sculptural works by Antonio Sant'Elia, better known for his futuristic architectural drawings: the burial monument to Gerardo Caprotti, made in 1913. It stood in the old San Gregorio cemetery and was moved here only after that cemetery closed.