Two cemeteries in Casale Monferrato, one in Moncalvo
Today the Jewish Community of Casale Monferrato manages three cemeteries, two in the town and one in Moncalvo. Testimonies attest to the existence of two other “Jewish meadows” near Piazza Statuto and Porta Milano, which were used in the past. The Moncalvo cemetery is still active, as is the Casalese cemetery in Via Cardinal Massaia. The old cemetery in Via Francesco Negri is no longer able to receive new burials because it is saturated.
Of the old cemetery in Via Negri, whose first use dates back to 1732, a list of the names of more than two hundred burials from the 19th century is preserved in the municipal archives. In the center of the cemetery there is an impressive pile of tombstones with inscriptions in Hebrew, some of them corroded; inside there was probably a small temple, the plans of which are documented.
In 1810, Enrico Vitta, on behalf of the Jewish Consistory of the Casale district, unsuccessfully negotiated the purchase of a plot of land in front of Porta Nuova. In 1893, an agreement was reached with the City Council for one hectare of land, which became the present cemetery in via Cardinal Massaia. The first burial took place in 1904 and inside the cemetery there is a small temple designed by Enrico Bertana and Lorenzo Rivetti with beautiful stained glass windows and inscriptions in Hebrew from the Psalms.
