The Cholera Cemetery of Turi: Memory, Compassion, and Community in 1837

In 1837, when cholera swept through the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies like an unstoppable shadow, the town of Turi was suddenly forced to confront fear, urgency, and grief. In those dramatic months, the community had to rapidly reorganise not only daily life but also the way it accompanied its dead, separating the fear of contagion from the need to ensure dignity and respect for the deceased.

It was in this context that, in the small valley along Via Castellana, the Cholera Cemetery was established: a place now largely forgotten, yet at the time essential to the very survival of the community.

On 1 September 1837, cholera officially appeared in Turi. The municipal authorities reacted swiftly, organising extraordinary sanitary and structural measures. Among the first decisions was the construction of a funeral cart dedicated to transporting cholera victims, entrusted to Vitantonio Palmisano. At the same time, work began on the cemetery itself: land was purchased, wooden structures erected, fences and gates installed, and a temporary chapel built, involving local craftsmen and labourers such as Giovanni Colapietro, Giovanni Aceto, Sabino Di Bella, and Giovanni Conforto.

The cemetery was not merely a burial ground. It was a guarded space, lit at night by oil lamps, as cholera burials often took place after dark, away from the town centre and public view. Despite exhaustion and fear, the community continued to function thanks to key figures such as the custodian Giovanni D’Addiego, responsible for constant surveillance of the site.

During the emergency, a crucial role was played by the “pharmacists of Turi”, including Domenico D’Addiego, Rocco De Leonardis, Domenico Palmisano, and Rocco De Leonardis, who were involved in disinfecting affected homes and distributing available remedies. The expenses borne by the municipality were substantial and meticulously recorded: from the transport of bodies to masonry works, from lighting to medical supplies, and down to the labour required to dig the graves.

The cemetery project received official approval on 17 July 1838. Construction continued amid technical difficulties, supply shortages, and ongoing inspections by the authorities. By September 1839, the cemetery was finally enclosed and stabilised, but as early as 1840 it began to lose its primary function with the gradual end of the cholera emergency.

Yet the memory of the place did not fade. Each year on 2 November, the community continued to gather for a memorial service. As recalled by Vincenza Spada, for decades a procession would depart from the Church of Santa Chiara and reach the former garden of the Mother Church, where a stone funerary marker, topped with an iron cross and bearing Latin inscriptions, symbolically preserved the memory of the cholera victims. It was a simple but deeply felt ritual, uniting faith, remembrance, and collective identity.

The Cholera Cemetery of Turi was not merely a sanitary response to a devastating epidemic. It was an act of civilisation. In a time of fear, the community managed to organise itself, care for its dead, and leave behind—among stones and municipal records—an enduring trace of responsibility and humanity.

Today, recounting this history means giving voice once again to a silent place, essential for understanding Turi’s past and the way a small community faced one of the greatest tragedies of the nineteenth century.

Sources, citations, and credits

Original article:“La costruzione del Camposanto dei colerosi nel giardino delle Monache di Santa Chiara”by Stefano De Carolis published in Il Paese, April–May 2015, p. 35column Storia di Turi 1838 – Il Camposanto nella valletta di via Castellana

Oral testimonies: recollections of Vincenza Spada, as reported in the article

Archival sources: Municipal records of the Municipality of Turi (1837–1840)

Decurionate resolutions, expense registers, and documents of the Intendancy of Terra di Bari

Photographic credits: historical photographs and supporting images taken from the original article published in Il Paese (2015)