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Dear Readers,
As The Italian Cemetery in Colma, California becomes a place of eternal rest for many, now extinguished, bright lights from our Italian-American Community and we recall happy memories of good times shared, to bring us a small measure of comfort in our time of sorrow, I want to share some of the cemetery history with you:

The Italian Cemetery and Mausoleum (540 F Street, Colma, CA 94014, tel 650-755-1511 / www.italiancemetery.com) is located on thirty-five acres of architectural landscaped grounds in Colma, California. Established in San Francisco by the Italian Mutual Benevolent Association in 1879 and beautifully upgraded through the years, the Italian Cemetery continues to play a central role in the life of the Italian-American community.

The Italian Mutual Benevolent Association of San Francisco (Societa' Italiana di Mutua Beneficienza) is the oldest continuously operating Italian American Benevolent organization in the United States.

I am truly impressed by the fact that the early founders of the Italian Mutual Benevolent Association were able to set aside petty differences and unite behind common goals, thereby, providing assistance to families in need from birth of burial.

For years San Francisco Italians were buried near Ocean Beach and 33rd Avenue in the City Cemetery complex. This area later became Lincoln Park and site of the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

Burials there were stopped after San Francisco supervisors passed Ordinance No. 3,096 forbidding further interments in City Cemetery as of January 1, 1898.
The Benevolent Association immediately commenced a search for cemetery land in Colma. Property on F Street was purchased December 31, 1898, and Italian Cemetery established there on several acres the following year.

The grounds have subsequently been expanded through a series of small purchases. Ultimately it comprised 35 acres and is on both sides of F Street. It was the first Italian burial ground in the nation.

In 1919, in that Lincoln Park was city property, San Francisco supervisors ordered City Park Superintended John McLaren and his entire force of workers to exhume and transport 8,000 Italian remains from the old cemetery to Colma.
“Grazie” to Andrew Canepa, historian and assistant manager of the Italian Cemetery I was able to cull information from several publications on the Societa' Italiana di Mutua Benevolenza and also share with you from a “tour” he gave for members of “Piemontesi nel Mondo” which although on a smaller scale than Genoa's guidebook noted Stagliano Cemetery, still has its share of notable residents old and young.

At the Italian Cemetery, hundreds of tiny angels, each one different, mark gravesites of young children. From Italy they came seeking California's dream: opportunity, wealth and prosperity.

There were those, unfortunately, who did not find the fortune they were seeking.
So, to provide for the indigent sick and burial of the dead, Italians established benevolent societies.

Initially, the Italian Mutual Benevolent Association, organized October 17, 1858, cared for the indigent sick.
Around the turn of the century, however, the Association opened an Italian cemetery.

The new cemetery became the major work of the Italian Mutual Benevolent Association, a source of ethnic pride, and a visible reminder of those Italian-Americans who lived and died in San Francisco Bay region.

The Italian Mutual Benevolent Association, led originally by Nicholas Larco, Federica Biesta and F. Seregni (president, vicepresident and secretary respectively), functioned as a nineteen-century social service organization.
From 1858 to 1862 it provided physicians for routine care.

In 1862, the Society opened a small temporary Italian Hospital at the corner of Folson and Third Street with doctor A. Rottanzi in charge. St. Mary's provided care for serious illness.

June 13, 1869, la Societa' Italiana di Mutua Beneficienza opened a second hospital. Located in the Mission District at Dale and Vale Streets, the structure cost $46,000.

The hospital provided medical care until 1873. When the services ended the Society sent the critically ill to St. Mary's.

With the closing of the hospital, the Society began to shift its emphasis. Health services continued, but the establishment of an Italian Cemetery became a new goal.

With Holy Cross (1887) leading the movement, San Francisco cemeteries were going to Colma.
On December 31, 1888 the Society obtained 31r2 parcels of land there, which belonged to H.C. Robinson and his wife, for the establishment of the cemetery.
They also purchased additional land along F. Street in Colma and the Italian Cemetery opened late 1889. The new necropolis maintained the homeland tradition of elaborately designed tombs, often with photographs of the departed.

The inscriptions also show the Catholic tradition and the hope for eternal life. “E aspetto la resurrezione dei morti e la vita del mondo che verra'” (The Credo). But most important of all, the cemetery provided psychological reassurance for those that had left Italy.

Now in death, they could reside with their fellow “paesani” in eternal rest.
During the first decade of the 1900s the Cemetery continued to grow. Additional land was purchased and the Cemetery set its boundaries: F Street, the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, and a neighboring cemetery, Eternal Home. The Society set up the cemetery avenues, laid out family plots, and erected a receiving vault by 1905.

The following year, the 1906 earthquake and fire affected both the Society and Cemetery.

The fire destroyed the Society's records, while the quake damaged the Cemetery's receiving vault.
After repairs activities at the Cemetery continued routinely, with burials and regular visits by families.

The San Marco Electric Railroad provided transportation to Colma and families would often spend a Sunday afternoon visiting the Cemetery and caring for their plots.

Even the growing use of the automobile did not change the tradition. It became a Sunday afternoon drive to the Cemetery. World War II, the sub-urbanization of the Bay Area, and television did, however, bring a change to the tradition.
The War caused many Italians to de-emphasize their ethnic heritage and to stress their American-ness.

The Italian Cemetery reflected the changes, old family traditions declined, and fewer families visited the Cemetery regularly. The post-WWII period saw other changes at the Cemetery. In June of 1940, amended articles of incorporation gave la Societa' Italiana di Mutua Beneficienza existence in perpetuity.

Additional land for the Cemetery was purchased and an outdoor mausoleum was erected in 1956. The period of the 1980's and 1990's brought changes to the Cemetery's design to provide it with the space to meet future needs.

The Italian Cemetery houses the remains of the prominent and not-so-prominent who have lived in the San Francisco area.
The list of prominent Italians includes individuals like John F. Fugazi, the banker; Ettore Patrizi, editor of L'Italia and families such as the Paladini and Sabella, famous in the fishing industry.

A list of other immigrant families might include such names as De Martini, Ingrassia, Leverone, Cavagnaro, Canepa, Garbarino, Schivo, and Casanova, to mention a few, featuring beautiful architecturally acclaimed mausoleums and outdoor gardens.

The Italian Cemetery is without a doubt the most beautiful of all Italian cemeteries in the United States. All are also welcome to visit their modern chapel where Holy masses are celebrated on Memorial Day and All Souls Day. You, your family and your friends are cordially invited to visit and attend these religious services. 540 F Street, Colma, or telephone for more information (650) 755-1511.

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Readers unable to visit in person can vicariously take the abridged Piemontesi nel Mondo walking tour, led by Andrew Canepa, historian and general manager of the Italian Cemetery.

Of all the ethnic cemeteries in Colma, none has captured and maintained an Old World ambiance in the manner of Italian Cemetery. Many of the individual markers include photos of the departed, which are still made in Italy on porcelain ceramic.
The photographs themselves, unfaded by a century, relate powerful tales:
The La Rocca Family, from Sciacca, on the Italian Island of Sicily rests in block 74.

Tragedy and amusement are represented by the portraits of this family. Salvatore's portrait in full cowboy regalia provides entertaining imagery for a memoriam.

The other portraits of his family regrettably depict a devastating period in our nation's history, the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic which claimed the lives of Concetta, wife and mother, on November 4, 1918 at age 31. Daughter Stella on November 6, 1918 at age 4 and Antonio, the father, November 9, 1918 at age 43.

“Cowboy” Salvatore La Rocca died on February 11, 1920 at the age of 29.
His cowboy regalia including full-length sheepskin chaps was probably taken at San Francisco's historic Cliff House by the sea, where such props were offered at the portrait studios.

In Fugazi Chapel rests John F. Fugazi, 1838-1916. Born in Santo Stefano Lodigiano (Milano) of Ligurian parents. He emigrated 1855 and peddled hair dye across the US, the 19th century equivalent of Grecian Hair Formula.

He settled in San Francisco 1869 and founded Fugazi travel agency (still in existence) and banks (Columbus Savings and Loan and the Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana).

Fugazi was the philanthropist who funded and donated Fugazi Hall to the Italian community in 1913. Fugazi Hall, located at 678 Green Street (off Columbus Avenue) currently houses the Italian American Community Services Agency and for over 25 years the Beach Blanket Babylon Musical Revue.

10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410