Permanent Italians: An Illustrated, Biographical Guide to the Cemeteries of Italy (Paperback)

~ (Author), Tom Randall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is the latest addition to photojournalists Culbertson and Randall's "Permanent" series, e.g., Permanent Londoners (LJ 2/15/91). From Roman emperors to recently deceased film director Fellini and his wife, the authors chronicle the final resting places and funerary memorials of notable personages, both Italian and foreign. The authors concentrate on Rome, Florence, and Venice, with a quick mention of other cities and towns, including Naples, Bologna, Mantua, and Rimini. The more famous and notorious get capsule biographies; the obscure get only a mention of the aspects of their memorials that caught the authors' attention. Featured are artists, musicians, philosophers, politicians, literary figures, and saints. Foreigners include the pretender Stuarts of Scotland, art patron Peggy Guggenheim, casualties of World War I from India, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many more. Not only cemeteries but also churches and other sites from private homes to Roman antiquities are included. Some of the sites are only memorials and do not host the remains of the persons honored. Directions for reaching the sites by public transportation or private car as well as opening hours and fees are also given. A valuable addition to travel collections.?William R. Smith, Johns Hopkins Univ. Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Italy is the final resting place of many great historical figures, including Dante, Galileo, Toscanini, and Enrico Caruso, as well as many famous ex-patriates such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, and Ezra Pound. This book provides a fascinating guide to the burial sites of hundreds of luminaries and a collecion of carefully researched biographical sketches that bring them back to life. 70 photos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802774318
• ISBN-13: 978-0802774316
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #319,406 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for anyone interested in Italian cemeteries, May 6, 2001

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Another fine addition to Culbertson and Randall's series of cemetery guides, this volume covers sixteen sites in Rome (including the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and the Protestant Cemetery) and its environs, Umbria and Tuscany, Florence (including Santa Croce, the English Cemetery and the Duomo), Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Predappio and Rimini), Northern regions (including Milan and Padua), and Venice (including the cemetery island of San Michele).

This is an invaluabe guide for travel in Italy. There are directions for getting to each site, maps of the cemeteries, and many photographs. There is a good bibliography and a complete index.

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, June 12, 2009

By	Eric J. Brock - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I expected more from this book, especially considering the quality of "Permanent Parisians." Two of Italy's great cemeteries -- Campo Verano in Rome and Staglieno in Genoa -- are omitted completely, not even a mention! Milan and Naples are barely covered and in Venice some of the most important graves (for example the economist-swindler John Law, who almost brought down the French economy and who played such a vital role in colonizing the French colonies in North America, virtually creating New Orleans, who is buried in Venice)are left out all together.
There also isn't much information about the cemeteries that ARE covered or how to find the graves listed, except in the most general terms. Mostly the book consist of biographies that can easily be found elsewhere. As a guidebook it is poor indeed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Going to Italy? Be sure to check out "Permanent Italians"., February 16, 2007

By	Paul D. Harvill (Tallahassee, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Going to Italy? Be sure to check out "Permanent Italians".

Delightful writing. Information packed. Great guide to take along to Italy to learn about another aspect of Italy.