The English Cemetery

My group’s third and final visit took place at the Protestant Cemetery, also known as “the English Cemetery”, which is owned by the Swiss Reformed Evangelical Church. The scenery was quite similar to Porte Sante with its monumental and artistic tombstones. It was a pleasure meeting Sister Julia Bolton Holloway, a 74 year old English nun who seemed to enjoy life as much as her occupation of cemetery custodian. Although our time with the Sister was limited, she was the highlight of the visit in the way she displayed cheerfulness and kindness. She was also incredibly knowledgeable about the cemetery. In addition to providing us a guided tour through the grounds, she also showed many photographs of the cemetery’s history. The visit wouldn’t have been the same without the informative help of Sister Holloway, who resides in the cemetery gatehouse. The first piece of information during the tour that struck a chord with me is the following: Before the cemetery was opened in 1827, people who were not either Catholic or Jewish could not be buried within the city limits of Florence, which was quite disheartening to hear.

Probably the most famous person buried at the cemetery is Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, the great poet of the Victorian era and wife of Robert Browning. She does not have a traditional gravestone, but a sealed white marble sarcophagus, designed and sculpted by Frederick Lord Leighton. It is ironic that Browning’s husband was displeased with the magnificent monument as the sculptor altered his designs. Both Leighton’s and Browning’s name inscriptions are missing from the tomb. Only the death date, initials “E+B+B”, and a sculpted plaque of the poet’s side face remain. Early sketches of the tomb show that Leighton envisioned his sculpture as a medieval pilgrim tomb. 

One of the stories that gave our group and the Sister a chuckle involved a woman from Australia, who was a descendant of Browning and who Sister said, “hailed from the Outback.” She came to pay respects to her ancestor but the significant lesson of the story is the diversity of people from all around the world who have a connection, come to visit the cemetery, and therefore give the grounds an international background. This background is an aspect of the cemetery that Sister Holloway loves. She also remarked about the diversity of people who are buried there ranging from a variety of upper and lower social classes and ethnicities. At the end of the tour, each member of our group gave the Sister an offering. I will not disclose how much I gave but the fact that I contributed in some way to the preservation of the grounds gave me a warm feeling inside.