AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR CEMETERY MANAGEMENT: ECONOMIC AND ORGANISATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN ITALIAN MUNCIPALITIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36004/nier.es.2025.1-07Keywords:
Management, Cemetery, public sector, public accounting, ItalyAbstract
Cemetery management in Italy is complex and delicate due to the social and cultural aspects involved. Cemeteries can be managed directly by municipalities or private individuals, with varying costs and levels of service. Urbanisation and population ageing increase the pressure on cemeteries, creating planning problems. Current legislation is confusing and often complicated. The pandemic has increased the number of deaths, leading to overcrowding and the need to find solutions. The study, therefore, analyses the various aspects of cemetery management for local administrations. The research focuses on three main questions: which laws and resources manage cemeteries in Italy? What is the financial impact of cemeteries on municipalities' budgets, and which have higher costs? Which new funeral facilities are in development, and how do they affect the organization of funeral spaces? The study, beginning with an international analysis, aims to provide an overview of the current situation and trends in cemetery management, with a particular focus on the economic and innovative effects on Italian municipalities.
Downloads
References
Amatucci, F., & Gugiattiet, A. (2007). Outsourcing processes in healthcare and evaluation criteria. Mecosan, 16(62), 9-37. https://cergas.unibocconi.eu/sites/default/files/files/Mecosan-62.pdf
Amatucci, F. (2009). The valorization of assets as a lever for financing investments. Local government funding choices. Milan: Egea.
Amatucci, F., Fattore, G., Della Rocca, G., Gualtieri, G., Ippolito, S. M., & Viggiani, A. (2014). PPP for health investments: state of the art, lessons learned and development scenarios. Oasi Report 2014. Milan: Egea.
Augias, C. (2013). The Secrets of Paris. Milan: Mondadori Editions.
Balduzzi, E. (2019). Monumental cemeteries and collective identity. They tell about art, life and death. http://www.santalessandro.org/2019/10/31/cimiteri-monumentali-arte-storia-e-identita-collettiva/
Bartolomei, L. (2012). The places of commemoration of the deceased in the contemporary city. CSO - Study and Research Centre for the Development and Promotion of Funeral Professions. Bologna.
Benvenuti, F. (1965). The maritime state property between past and future. Rivista del diritto della Navigazione, XXVI, Part II. https://rivdirnav.org/en/ancient-issues/1949-1972/#elf_l1_Lw
Borgonovi, E., Marsilio, M., & Musì, F. (2006). Public-private relations. Conditions for competitiveness. Milan: Egea.
Borgonovi, E. (2020). Public managers between evolution and paradigm shift. Italian Journal of Public Management, 3(1), 17-40. https://www.rivistaitalianadipublicmanagement.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SFOCUS_ART1Borgonovi.pdf
Breschi, M., & M. Francini. (2017). The long, slow, inexorable affirmation of the crematory rite in Italy. Population and History, 18, 81-98. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318960507_The_long_slow_inexorable_affirmation_of_the_crematory_rite_in_Italy
Calzolari, M., Davoli, P., & Duarte, L. (2023). Sustainability of urban spaces: reflections on the transformation of urban cemetery areas in Italy. Rimini: L'ufficio Tecnico. https://sfera.unife.it/handle/11392/2534191
Campione, R. (2011). Burial, cremation and mortuary police. In: Succession and donation code (Vol. II-Related laws, pp. 811-843.). Milan: Giuffré Editore. https://cris.unibo.it/handle/11585/114621
Canella, M. (2002). The space of death. The origins of the Extraurban Cemetery. In: Society and history, 25(9), 769-773.
Cassese, S. (2000). Treatise on administrative law. Milan: Giuffrè Editore.
Centofanti, N. (2007). Cemeteries. Master plan, regulations and cemetery concessions. Milan: Giuffrè Editore.
Cucciniello, A. (2020). Illness, death and life after death in the Islamic conception. In: A. Cuciniell, & P. B. Branc (Eds.), Malattia, morte e cura. I musulmani e l’emergenza sanitaria (pp. 21-32). Milan: Vita e Pensiero. https://publicatt.unicatt.it/handle/10807/209756
Cullman, O. (1971). Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead? From the Sources of the Gospel to Christian Theology. Rome: Ave.
Denkler, A. (2018). The Rural Cemetery Movement: Places of Paradox in Nineteenth-Century America. Journal of American History, 105(3), 669-670. https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jay321
Devecchi, M. (2020). Role and activities of the Commission for the quality of cemetery works of the City of Turin. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Monumental & Multicultural Cemeteries (MMC3): Knowledge, Conservation & Reuse, Restyling & Innovation (pp. 106-110). Torino: International Center for the Conservation of Architectural Heritage. CICOP Onlus. https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1739692
Filipovic, A., & Troiano, W. (2013). Strategies and Planning for the Conservation and Transmissibility of Cultural Heritage. Roma: Fidei Signa scientific editions. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303372278_POSSIBILITIES_OF_DEFINING_THE_ARCHAEOLOGICAL_SITE_OF_VIMINACIUM_AS_A_UNIQUE_CULTURAL_LANDSCAPE
Francis, D. (2003). Cemeteries as cultural landscapes. Mortality, 8(2), 222-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357627031000087442
Galletti, F. (2018). Cemeteries and burials in civil and ecclesiastical systems between late antiquity and the communal age. I Quaderni Del M. Ae. S, 16, 49-74. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2533-2325/8724
Geuss, R. (2005). Public goods private goods. Origin and meaning of a distinction. Rome: Donzelli Editore.
Gianfreda, A. (2018). The Body After Life: Ius Sepulchri Tested by Religious Pluralism between Public Law and Private Autonomy. In: E. Ceccherini, & L. De Gregorio (Eds.), Pluralismo religioso, forma di Stato e autonomia privata (pp. 129-146). Cagliari: Libellula Edizioni. https://hdl.handle.net/10807/160825
Gould, H., Miyazawa, A., & Yamada, S. (2024). Death and Funeral Practices in Japan (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003451914
Guicciardi, E. (1934). The state property. Padua: Cedam.
Iaselli, M. (2014). The legal problems of state property. Rimini: Maggioli Editore. https://www.maggiolieditore.it/le-problematiche-giuridiche-del-demanio.html
Instituto Nazionale di Statistica (Istat). (2022). Future of the population: fewer residents, more elderly and smaller families. Istat Report 2022. https://www.istat.it/en/press-release/population-and-households-projections-base-1
Leotta, V. (2024). The management of cemetery heritage with the new Legislative Decree 201/2022. TANEXPO. Bologna.
Longo, F. (2005). Governance of public interest networks. Milan: Egea. https://hdl.handle.net/11565/54020
Loro, P. (2019). The code of state-owned concessions. Padova: Exeo Edizioni.
Lucca, M. (2021). Negotiability of the cemetery tomb. https://www.mauriziolucca.com/negoziabilita-del-sepolcro-cimiteriale/#_ftn1
Lucca, M. (2024). Improper use of cemetery concessions. https://www.mauriziolucca.com/uso-improprio-delle-concessioni-cimiteriali/
Madeddu, F. (2019). Management, enhancement and disposal of public real estate assets. ANCI Foundation, IFEL.
Mancini, R. (2015). The nonviolence of faith. Brescia: Queriniana.
Manganelli, B., & Tajaniet, F. (2014). A management model for the valorization of extraordinary public buildings. Valori e Valutazioni, 12, 139-153.
Marcenaro, G. (2008). Cemeteries. Stories of regrets and follies. Milan: Bruno Mondadori publisher.
Mari, G. (2022). Lastscapes: legal profiles of the cemetery buffer zone and cemetery concessions. Rivista legale dell'edilizia, LXV, fasc. 5. Naples.
Meucci L. (1892). Institutions of administrative law. Turin: Fratelli Bocca.
Olufemi, O. O., & Grace, O. (2024). Sustainability Practices in Urban Cemetery Management. Path of Science: International Electronic Scientific Journal, 10 (4), 4001-4007. https://doi.org/10.22178/pos.103-5
Panaciulli, F. (2022). The extension of state concessions to 2033: the Italian case. Revista de Estudios Europeos, 80, 39-70. https://doi.org/10.24197/ree.80.2022.39-70
Pezzani, F. (2000). The accountability of local authorities. Milan: Egea.
Police, A. (2008). Public goods: protection, enhancement and management. Milan: Giuffrè Editore.
Rae, R. (2021). Cemeteries as public urban green spaces: Management, funding and form. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 61(4), 127078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127078
Rugg, J., & Parsons, B. (2018). Cemeteries and Crematoria: Governance and Management. Chapter 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-223-720181004
Sandulli, A. (2003). The concession procedures, in Treatise on Administrative Law. Milan: Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre.
Savas, E. (2005). Privatization in the City: Successes, Failures, Lessons. Washington: CQ Press. https://www.academia.edu/63451887/Make_or_Buy_E_S_Savas_2005_Privatization_in_the_City_Successes_Failures_Lessons_Washington_DC_CQ_Press_335_pp
Schmidt, M., Yuan, F., & Jang, W. (2020). Cemetery Mapping and Digital Data Analysis: A Case Study in Minnesota, USA. In: Journal of Geography and Geology, 12(2), 40-56. https://doi.org/10.5539/jgg.v12n2p40
Selvafolta, O. (2005). The architecture of the Cemeteries between France and Italy (1750-1900): models, experiences, achievements. In: M. Felicori (Ed.), The spaces of memory. Architecture of European monumental cemeteries. Rome: Luca Sosella Publisher.
Selvafolta, O. (2007). After the edict: the model Père Lachaise and cemeteries Italians of the nineteenth century. In: All'ombre of the cypresses and inside the urns. The cemeteries urban in Europe two hundred years after the Edict of Saint Cloud. Bononia: University Press.
Sulaiman, N., & Daud, N. S. (2014). Muslim Cemetery Management (Mcm) in Malaysia: Practices, Issues And Challenges. In: International Real Estate Research Symposium 2014. Institut Penilaian Negara (INSPEN). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261877363_MUSLIM_CEMETERY_MANAGEMENT_MCM_IN_MALAYSIA_PRACTICES_ISSUES_AND_CHALLENGES
Taub, D. (2008). ABC to Know Judaism. Cinisello Balsamo: San Paolo Edizioni.
Utilitalia. Sefit. (2008). White paper on the Italian funeral sector.
Utilitalia. Sefit. (2018). Atlas. Cemeteries significant Italians. https://www.significantcemeteries.org/2018/02/atlante-dei-cimiteri-significativi.html
Utilitalia. Sefit. (2020). A month of cultural revitalization of cemeteries. https://monumentale.comune.milano.it/sites/default/files/inline-files/202006_WDEC_libretto.pdf
Vaj, E. (2010). The cemeteries before and after the Edict of Saint-Cloud. In: Funeral services, 3, 31-32. Ferrara: Euro. Act S.r.l. https://funerali.org/wp-content/uploads/File/Bibliografia/isf103_31.pdf
Vecchi, V., & Leone, V. (2020). Creating Public Private Partnerships: Policies, Contracts, and Methodologies. Milan: Egea. https://iris.unibocconi.it/handle/11565/4055471
Vecchi, V., & Leone, V. (2024). Public Private Partnership 2.0. Milan: Egea.
Virgilio, R. (2005). Public companies and the regime of goods. In: Public companies: conference Cesifin. Hall of the Pergola Theatre. Florence.
Wu, Y., & Sun, C. (2008, December 19). A Research on the Green Technology Innovation of the Cemetery Industry. In: International Seminar on Business and Information Management. Institute of Elictrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Wuhan, China. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISBIM.2008.8
Zavattaro, S. M. (2020). We've Cared for the Dead since We Started Caring: COVID-19 and Our Relationship to Public and Private Deathcare. Public Administration Review, 80(4), 701-705. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13221
Zavattaro, S. M. (2021). Cultural Competency in Local Government Cemetery Management. Public Integrity, 23(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2020.1777065
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
