Henri A. Gandolfo

The book is subtitled: Tales of Its Statesmen, Soldiers and Great Families

I bought this on my first visit to Metairie, and then again on another visit when I couldn't remember the first copy. I'm not sad about this - I think the author and the cemetery deserve my money for the enjoyment I had from the visit. This is a cemetery that's full of sculptures and unique tomb architecture, and reminds me more of something found in Europe than American. (But that's really New Orleans in a nutshell.) It is very, very easy to spend hours here, once you've found your way to it. (It's much easier if you have a car to travel to Metairie - getting here via public transport will be a problem, plus the place is very very large and will mean miles of walking.)

The book takes you from the land's history as a racetrack up through its cemetery days, with descriptions of the graves and histories of the occupants, as well as some history on the architects or the designers of the tombs. And there are many black and white photos. The appendix has names and then the cemetery section where the graves are located. (The people in the office can also give you a map, and if you describe a grave/tomb accurately enough can often direct you to it.)

This is probably one of the best souvenirs of a visit I've ever purchased, and has also helped me locate statues when I made future visits. (I now try and see this cemetery every time I go to New Orleans. This works well if it's either raining or ridiculously hot, as that makes it perfect to ride in your car and look.)

[I posted a quote from this book here.]… (altro)