HARRY BARTNICK

A columbarium (the Latin word for dovecote) is a sealed chamber, usually in a wall with other columbaria, which holds the ashes of the deceased.  Those shown here are from the late 19th and early 20th century, at Rome's monumental cemetery Campo Verano (Cimitero del Verano), one of Europe's most moving and spectacular "cities of the dead".  Most of the tombs are maintained by relatives of the deceased.  Some are abandoned when the family moves away or the line dies out.