Editing Cemetery (section)

===Monumental===
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2021}}

[[File:Genova-Staglieno-IMG 2049.JPG|thumb|left|Monument of {{Circa|1910}} in the [[Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno]] in [[Genoa]], Italy, one of the most spectacular of a number of Italian cemeteries featuring large-scale sculpture.]]
[[File:Victor Brecheret - Túmulo de Olívia Guedes Penteado.JPG|thumb|left|An artwork in a tomb by [[Victor Brecheret]] in [[Cemitério da Consolação]], an example of monumental cemetery in [[São Paulo]], Brazil.]]
[[File:Buenos Aires - Cementerio de la Recoleta - 20090104-12.jpg|thumb|Mausoleum of Argentine Nobel Prize laureate [[Luis Federico Leloir]] in [[La Recoleta Cemetery]] in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]]]]
A ''monumental cemetery'' is the traditional style of cemetery where headstones or other monuments made of [[marble]], [[granite]] or similar materials rise vertically above the ground (typically around 50&nbsp;cm but some can be over 2 metres high). Often the entire grave is covered by a slab, commonly [[concrete]], but it can be more expensive materials such as [[marble]] or [[granite]], and/or has its boundaries delimited by a fence which may be made of [[concrete]], [[cast iron]] or [[timber]]. Where a number of family members are buried together (either vertically or horizontally), the slab or boundaries may encompass a number of graves.

Monumental cemeteries are often regarded as unsightly due to the random collection of monuments and headstones they contain. Also, as maintenance of the headstones is the responsibility of family members (in the absence of a proscribed Perpetual Care and Maintenance Fund), over time many headstones are forgotten about and decay and become damaged. For cemetery authorities, monumental cemeteries are difficult to maintain. While cemeteries often have grassed areas between graves, the layout of graves makes it difficult to use modern equipment such as ride-on lawn mowers in the cemetery. Often the maintenance of grass must be done by more labour-intensive (and therefore expensive) methods. In order to reduce the labour cost, devices such as [[string trimmer]]s are increasingly used in cemetery maintenance,{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} but such devices can damage the monuments and headstones. Cemetery authorities dislike the criticism they receive for the deteriorating condition of the headstones, arguing that they have no responsibility for the upkeep of headstones, and typically disregard their own maintenance practices as being one of the causes of that deterioration. {{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}