The commemoration of the dead is approaching: on 02 November, as is tradition, cemeteries will be filled with visitors. It is the duty of municipalities to show safe and decent places.

The legislation on the management of cemetery areas is rather nebulous: some aspects are left to the regions, others to national regulations and many additions are related to municipal ordinances.

Let's make it clear.

The regions define the Cemetery Master Plan, which is considered an Urban Sector Plan because it regulates the urban and sanitary aspects of municipal cemetery areas. In the field of town planning, the regulations provide for a pyramid-type structure:

the State has steering tasks, the Region issues legislation, the Municipality regulates and manages the space.

The Plan regulates the dimensions of the cemetery areas, spaces, subsequent extensions, and the types of burial envisaged. It is an atypical Sector Plan in that cemeteries exist because it is provided for by the Sanitary Law (T.U. 1265/1934) that establishes

• each municipality must have a cemetery with a burial system;

• each municipality must have a cemetery with a burial system;

• all corpses must be buried in cemeteries.

The Regulatory Plan must therefore be supplemented by the National Mortuary Police Regulations (Presidential Decree 285/199), which regulate the services related to the death of every citizen with respect for dignity. 

According to Article 113 D.Lgs 267/2000 and D.Lgs 50/2016 the owner of cemetery services is the municipality which may carry out the services directly or through contracts awarded to specialised companies. Responsibility for burial, maintenance and cleaning services is assigned to the mayor or the manager's safety officer, as defined by the regulations governing municipally owned spaces; "private spaces" within the cemeteries (graves, chapels, burial niches) are under concession.

Another aspect regulated by the municipal administrations is the management of service concessions and tariffs.

In order to provide decent cemeteries, to safeguard respect for the sites, and to protect visitors and operators, the municipalities, through ordinances, stipulate that the cleaning and maintenance of the spaces under concession are the responsibility of the relatives of the deceased or their relatives.

Although important, it is unfortunately not enough.

Maintenance and cleanliness must be constant in common areas and represent a cost for administrations.

Added to this is the replacement of obsolete equipment that may pose, above all, a risk to users.

It is the duty of administrations to provide careful management of cemetery services, and the choice of suppliers: choosing the right partner makes all the difference.