In Italy, one's final resting place in a cemetery is not considered to be forever. Modern Italian contracts for a cemetery space generally last from 30 to 50 years. When the contract expires and the space is needed, the physical remains are moved to a much smaller individual, familial, or communal ossuary. The emptied space is then available to be re-used.
These photographs are of the headstones, markers, and other paraphernalia that are removed when the physical remains are relocated. How these memorial objects are disposed of varies immensely. Sometimes these remnants are handled with what appears to be great respect, at other times they are strewn about in a way that suggests complete carelessness and disregard.
A note on the title: Memoria Scaduta is best translated into English as Expired Memory. In this context “expired” would not mean having died but would mean having elapsed (as a due date or a contract might expire). “Scaduta” in Italian also means having declined or gone down in value.
— Jim Vecchi
Editor's note: We also featured work from Jim Vecchi's Sunset Trilogy in a 2008 edition of Lens Culture.
FeatureMemoria ScadutaIn Italy, one’s final resting place in a cemetery is not considered to be forever. Photographer Jim Vecchi documents what happens when the lease is up.View Images
Feature
Memoria Scaduta
In Italy, one’s final resting place in a cemetery is not considered to be forever. Photographer Jim Vecchi documents what happens when the lease is up.
Memoria Scaduta
In Italy, one’s final resting place in a cemetery is not considered to be forever. Photographer Jim Vecchi documents what happens when the lease is up.
Trending this Week

Photography As An Expression of Indulgence
Merging cinematic portraits with achingly-honest subtitle text, Sarah Bahbah’s photography explores emotive narratives of love, sex, and relationships from a woman’s perspective.

Announcing the 2019 LensCulture Visual Storytelling Award Winners!
Discover 36 remarkable photographers weaving compelling narratives with photographs and words, ranging from documentary and imaginative storytelling to fiction.

Call Me Heena: Hijra, The Third Gender
“I feel like a mermaid. My body tells me that I am a man but my soul tells me that I am a woman…” A penetrating, multi-year report on a unique group of people—who fall outside of Western notions of gender—trying to carve out a...

Where There Is No Room For Fiction
Take a look at the dystopian underbelly of Guangzhou, where big city development leaves modern ruins in its wake.

Old Father Thames
An epic ode to London’s River Thames, Julia Fullerton-Batten’s meticulous cinematic tableaux reimagine the many people, tales and legends that have washed up on its shores.

Let Us Not Fall Asleep While Walking
Surreal, saturated imagery of the Ukrainian Revolution combined with archival materials and personal stories tell real stories of life during war today — a new, relevant photobook to savor.