The Italian Cemetery

The Italian Cemetery in Colma is identifiable by thirty-five acres of landscaped grounds and a collection of nine indoor and outdoor mausoleums, anchored by the historic Porporato Mausoleum. Established in eighteen ninety-nine, the site was founded by La Società Italiana di Mutua Beneficenza, the oldest continuously operating Italian-American organization in the United States. Its existence stems from the late nineteenth-century policy in San Francisco that prohibited new burials within city limits, forcing organizations to relocate their burial grounds to the town of Colma.