«Parlami dell’esistenza di mondi lontanissimi». Altre progettualità spaziali per configurare i “nuovi” deathscapes

In 1951, Edgar Morin wrote that the world of the dead, like a drifting continent, would become increasingly distant from the world of the living. Throughout the twentieth century, this separation has become more evident, rendering cemeteries distant, obscure, and alienated from urban-cultural context. While the patrimonialisation of historic cemeteries seeks to preserve them, it often fails to counteract their neglect and deterioration. This, in turn, fosters a progressive process of disassociation, leading to a loss of collective attachment and growing indifference towards their preservation. Meanwhile, as burial space in older cemeteries has become increasingly scarce, the demand for new graveyards has grown; and since the 1970s, cemeteries have undergone radical transformations, adapting to new artistic and architectural sensibilities. This article examines two significant cemetery enlargements: Arnaldo Pomodoro’s project for the cemetery of Urbino and Andrea Dragoni’s extension for the cemetery of Gubbio, realised in collaboration with the artists Sauro Cardinali and Nicola Renzi. These interventions not only reshape the physical landscape but also embody new aesthetic sensibilities. In doing so, they invite critical reflection on whether contemporary deathscapes encourage a deeper, more contemplative engagement with spaces of mourning or, conversely, reinforce their extraterritorial aura of detachment, further distancing them from collective,veveryday experience.