Funerary monument (1881 – 1890) architect Carlo Ceppi, sculptors Odoardo Tabacchi, Pietro Canonica, Giuseppe Dini
Construction date: 1881 – 1890
Designer: architect Carlo Ceppi (1829 – 1921)
Sculptors: Odoardo Tabacchi (1831 – 1905), Pietro Canonica (1869 – 1959), Giuseppe Dini (1820 – 1890)
Location: Cimitero Monumentale di Torino, I Ampliazione, area 490
Typology: funerary monument, built on an underground chamber
Materials: white Botticino marble from Brescia, white Carrara marble, pink granite from Baveno
Skilled workers: Marble workers- Giovanni Fazzi and G. Robba
“The burial is composed of two monuments, built on an underground chamber, the monuments supports the statues of Riccardo Sineo and Teresa Sineo.
The statue of Riccardo, made in white Carrara marble and elevated on a pink marble podium, was made by Giuseppe Dini in 1881. The monument to Teresa Denina-Sineo was designed by Carlo Ceppi in 1889
In 1890 the permit was granted to build niches and monument in memory of Teresa Denina, construction started the same year.
The artefact is made of Botticino marble (Brescia) and consists of a canopy catafalque in which there is a particular mixture between architectural and sculptural elements.
The architecture, eclectic taste, presents typical elements that are also found in other buildings designed by architect Carlo Ceppi, such as: six polycentric bilobated arches that make up the perimeter openings and decorative motifs in the intrados of the canopy. This canopy, of neo-gothic taste, re-proposes the ribs already made previously in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Mary, using them as a decorative motif and not as structural elements of a vaulted surface.
The six polycentric tri-lobed arches, which make up the openings on the perimeter, rest on six beam pillars.
The capitals in acanthus leaves are very similar to those used in the portico of Palazzo Bellia-Ducco-Migliora in Via Pietro Micca in Turin, where the acanthus leaves are instead turned upside down compared to those placed in the Sineo tomb. Above the capitals lie ten statuettes of angels watching over the deceased. These white marble statuettes were attributed to the young sculptor Pietro Canonica, as his first work, realized when he was a pupil of Odoardo Tabacchi, in 1884.
The inverted shell cornice, richly decorated with floral motifs and knots of love, is an element of anticipation of the Art Noveau movement. The stone elements were worked by marble workers Giovanni Fazzi and G. Robba. Inside the canopy lies the sculpture in white Carrara marble depicting a young woman on her death bed, created by Odoardo Tabacchi, who sculpted with extreme care and refinement the expressive details of the embroidered face and garments. The statue is one of the few funerary works of Verista character inside the Monumental Cemetery of Turin. It represents Teresa Sineo lying on the funeral bed, wrapped in a long elegant dress. The right hand is unrestrained while the left holds a cross and an olive branch on the chest." dr. Carlotta Melis