|
The
former manager of the cemetery |
|
| For
the poorer people of the world, the problem of death
and the rituals connected with it constitutes an occurrence
to be faced with seriousness and solemnity. |
| In
Calitri, since births and weddings did not require
extraordinary involvement by the family, they were
dealt with simply and naturally; but death, instead,
required rites entailing expenses and assets for both
the family and their community. |
| In
Southern Italy the widespread devotion to St Michael—the
Archangel who assists the soul at its passing beyond—is
additional evidence of the thought these people gave
to death. |
| In
Calitri, the oldest church on record was that of St.
Michael the Archangel and it was intimately associated
with the care of the deceased. The lay ‘Confraternity
of Purgatory“ (Confraternita del Purgatorio)
had its nerve center here. Its duty was to provide
its members with the necessary assistance for funerals
and burials, and the management of the so-called “Fund
for the Deceased.” |
| In
past centuries, the deceased were buried in churches
or close to sacred structures; all the principal churches
in Calitri had both private tombs and common graves. |
| At
the beginning of the 17TH century, the main burial
sites were two: the church of St. Canio and the Franciscan
convent of St. Sebastian (San Sebastiano). Exceptionally,
other churches were used; for example, the church
of Santa Sofia was used during the epidemics at the
end of the 15th century and the church of the Annunciation,
after the 1694 earthquake. |
| There
were also lay chapels established for charities. These
were the chapel “del Gesù,” that
of the Most Holy Sacrament (Santissimo Sacramento),
and that of Saint Mary of Monserrat (Santa Maria di
Monte Serrato). In 1543 there were seven of such chapels;
additional chapels were those of San Bernardino, San
Rocco, San Canio, and Santissimo Rosario. |
|
