Honors College Fellow publishes new book, “La vita sociale dei cimiteri” (“The Social Life of Cemeteries”)
Dr. Michelangelo Giampaoli, Visiting Lecturer of Anthropology, published his new book, “La vita sociale dei cimiteri” (“The Social Life of Cemeteries”). The book, the result of almost twenty years of historical-anthropological research on cemeteries, leads the reader across continents, countries, cities and communities to discover places thought of as territories of the dead which, in reality, are configured above all as spaces built by the living for the living. They take on different values from time to time: from cultural, educational, civic and religious ones, to other less obvious ones such as naturalistic, recreational and tourist ones. The declared objective of the book is to break down the fears and stereotypes that, too often, mark the perception of cemeteries, highlighting their history and the many stories of those who rest there. Observing the changes that they have undergone over time and those that occur in the present - from "skyscraper" cemeteries to "virtual" cemeteries.