(Italian Club Cemetery)
L'Unione Italiana, founded in 1894 in Ybor City, institutionalized the Italian funeral in Tampa when in 1896 it purchased this property from the prominent African-American Armwood family and dedicated it as a cemetery. The first Italians were buried here in 1893. Also buried here is Blanche Armwood (1890-1939), a nationally known educator. The Italian cemetery includes a parcel belonging to the Societa de Mutuo Soccorso (Mutual Aid Society). Ceramic photographs on grave markers and tombstones inscribed in Sicilian and Italian pay homage to Sicily, where the stonecutters perfected their craft in granite and marble. A cherished set of rituals governed the Italian funeral. Hundreds of people walked in a cortege, often pausing for a final tribute in front of the deceased's house and the Italian Club where flags of Italy and the United States stood at half mast. A brass band led them to the cemetery followed by family and paesani (countrymen). This ritual celebrated the decedent's service to the community. In the early years, each club member contributed one dollar to the bereaved family. Later, the club established a $300 survivor benefit.HM Number | HMTAB |
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Tags | |
Marker Number | F-430_MARKER |
Year Placed | 2001 |
Placed By | The Italian Club Cemetery, Inc. and the Florida Department of State |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Sunday, October 19th, 2014 at 5:26am PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17R E 359285 N 3094921 |
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Decimal Degrees | 27.97196667, -82.43070000 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 27° 58.318', W 82° 25.842' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 27° 58' 19.08" N, 82° 25' 50.52" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 813 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 3150-3186 N 26th St, Tampa FL 33605, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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