Handing down the immaterial. Cremation themes for funerary architecture

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate how the practice of cremation can contribute to the configuration and resemanticization of places intended for the cult of the dead. We will identify those architectural features that are linked to the burial and the dispersion of ashes, capable of giving meaningful form to the impalpable matter of memory. Even though there is no longer a body to testify to human existence, we intend to demonstrate, through the concrete answers offered by architectural practice, how the burial of ashes can inform or modify the character of the modern cemetery, allowing a typological analysis rooted in compositional principles and archetypal images.

Keywords

• architettura funeraria
• cremazione
• caratteri tipologici
• cimitero-città
• cimitero-natura