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30 Photos Of Fascinating Photographs I Found On Old Tombstones In Italian Cemeteries
I'm a 36-year-old Italian who is fascinated by the past and by many things that are death-related. That is probably because I lost my parents at a young age and I was forced to deal with mortality, loss, and mourning.
I created an Instagram account to collect pictures of the photos on old tombstones, mostly found in Italian cemeteries. I love cemeteries, and the different conceptions people have about them around the world, and also the differences in the way they are (e.g. in Italy, all tombs have photographs while in other countries they are not used at all). I really like funerary art, cemeteries' artistic value, beautiful statues and also inscriptions on old tombstones, the type of language and symbolism, and also I am fascinated by post-mortem photographs.
I also love old photographs from the 1800s and early 1900s that depict the first attempts in portrait photography. They are historical and fascinating. Sometimes it's also possible to find post-mortem photos (photographs of the recently deceased) as it was an acceptable memorial practice in the 19th century.
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While I was visiting cemeteries, other than taking pictures of the tombs and monuments (which a lot of people do), I started to look closer and focus on the faces that I found interesting. I opened an Instagram account mainly to not bother my friends following my personal profile with too much of this kind of content. I decided to make this account a repository of my collection. The name of the page (My forgotten faces) comes from the fact that a lot of times these kinds of photos I look for on tombs are so old that no one takes care of them anymore.
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I love to see the different fashions in clothes and hair, but also the facial expressions, pose, and if there is a little bit of information on the person. Another thing I love is the names. Here in Italy, I find a lot of old names that are not used anymore and are very interesting and sometimes even weird.
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Final score:
69points
I don't know the stories of these people. I only look for what's on the tombstone inscriptions. I always try to be very discreet when taking pictures, cause I think a lot of people visiting cemeteries might find it offensive, even though I specifically look for very old tombs that most of the time are forgotten (hence the name of the account).
By taking and sharing these photos, I give these people a chance to be seen again by someone, after so many years of being there, sometimes forgotten even by their own family. Not a lot of us deeply know about such old relatives (which I think is unfortunately natural and normal). Maybe their family line has ended years ago, and there is really no one here to remember them anyway.
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John Sampson 5 years ago
War should be outlawed. Can you imagine intentionally sending young men into a situation where lethal weapons will be pointed at them and fired? There is nothing civilized about war!
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Vicki Meola 5 years ago
This could be the same fella in different stages of his life. Its hard to pick just one.
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Agnes Jekyll 5 years ago
Does this mean she died young while he lived on without her? or is this a photo of her when she was young, or is this a daughter?
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What do you think ?
Christine M Quigley 5 years ago
I grew up from Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. There were many headstones that included these beautiful, framed photos. Since there was no 'park' close by, the cemetery became our park. It was very well kept, there were even security guards patrolling to cut down on vandalism.
diane a 5 years ago (edited)
Unfortunately back then, due to childhood diseases and pre-antibiotics, it was expected that a fairly high percentage of children would not survive to adulthood. child mortality pre 1900 was close to 1 in 5 in much of Europe.
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Palo Sulek 2 years ago
I think not many persons at those times died shortly after their photos were taken BC I guess photography was quite rare so they just found the most recent one. However they were often dying young no argue ab that
Johanna-Nicollette Kidd 5 years ago
Cemeteries are hystorical+can be so interesting! These were fabulous
Paula Hannon 5 years ago
It's a good way to be remembered, right now people from all over the world are seeing their faces on the internet. Maybe we should bring back this practice.
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
I agree. You can do that now, virtually, on Find a Grave (upload a photo of your loved one, that is)
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Ece Cenker 2 years ago
These photos look like they were printed on ceramic. Does anyone know how they were made so that they are so durable on headstones?
Eva Verde 2 years ago
I've always loved these on tombstones. In Poland they're called "porcelanki", as they're photos made on porcelain/ceramic instead of the photo paper. In the traditional method the photo is made using ceramic pigments and then transferred onto ceramic or glass and fired in a kiln - that's why they last so long. There is something very calming in walking on the old cemetery on a grey autumn day, looking at photos of people long dead, reading the names, the dates, imagining who they were, what happened to them etc. It puts a lot of things into a perspective. Memento mori.
R Tate Dancer 5 years ago
I have taken photos in cemeteries in Texas-things showed up in the photos that I did not see,skulls and demons. Always found headstones interesting. After that, I became leery....
Bored Phoenix 5 years ago
All these TJler comments make me mad because all of them look mean and nasty and that make me angry.
Load More Replies... 
Christine M Quigley 5 years ago
I grew up from Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. There were many headstones that included these beautiful, framed photos. Since there was no 'park' close by, the cemetery became our park. It was very well kept, there were even security guards patrolling to cut down on vandalism.
diane a 5 years ago (edited)
Unfortunately back then, due to childhood diseases and pre-antibiotics, it was expected that a fairly high percentage of children would not survive to adulthood. child mortality pre 1900 was close to 1 in 5 in much of Europe.
Load More Replies... Palo Sulek 2 years ago
I think not many persons at those times died shortly after their photos were taken BC I guess photography was quite rare so they just found the most recent one. However they were often dying young no argue ab that
Johanna-Nicollette Kidd 5 years ago
Cemeteries are hystorical+can be so interesting! These were fabulous
Paula Hannon 5 years ago
It's a good way to be remembered, right now people from all over the world are seeing their faces on the internet. Maybe we should bring back this practice.
Agnes Jekyll 2 years ago
I agree. You can do that now, virtually, on Find a Grave (upload a photo of your loved one, that is)
Load More Replies... Ece Cenker 2 years ago
These photos look like they were printed on ceramic. Does anyone know how they were made so that they are so durable on headstones?
Eva Verde 2 years ago
I've always loved these on tombstones. In Poland they're called "porcelanki", as they're photos made on porcelain/ceramic instead of the photo paper. In the traditional method the photo is made using ceramic pigments and then transferred onto ceramic or glass and fired in a kiln - that's why they last so long. There is something very calming in walking on the old cemetery on a grey autumn day, looking at photos of people long dead, reading the names, the dates, imagining who they were, what happened to them etc. It puts a lot of things into a perspective. Memento mori.
R Tate Dancer 5 years ago
I have taken photos in cemeteries in Texas-things showed up in the photos that I did not see,skulls and demons. Always found headstones interesting. After that, I became leery....
Bored Phoenix 5 years ago
All these TJler comments make me mad because all of them look mean and nasty and that make me angry.
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