On May 17th SO.CREM. Bologna receives interested people by appointment, director Alice Spiga: “An opportunity to deepen knowledge of a burial practice now chosen by one in three people in Italy”
Bologna, 7 May 2024. “Our Association receives many questions every day on the topic of cremation – says Alice Spiga, director of SO.CREM Bologna – which is why we continue to provide information on this topic”.
By writing articles on the topic of cremation, constantly updating the SO.CREM. Bologna, which also contains a specific area with all the most common questions and the related answers, but also organizing conferences, debates and various training days on the topic. The next appointment will be held on May 17, when director Spiga will be a guest of the ILLUXIT funeral company, based in Ravenna (viale Vincenzo Randi, 4), to answer questions about what cremation is and how it works, where it is can preserve or scatter the ashes (and how to forward the relevant request). But also on what it means to be a member of SO.CREM Bologna and how to become one, and much more. The association will in fact have an equipped space available to receive anyone with questions and curiosities on the topic of cremation. You can only receive appointments by contacting 05441691422 or 051241726.
An important opportunity to answer questions about cremation, a topic that is attracting more and more interest. And to have operational information on the functioning of this option, on the rules that regulate it and on the costs to be incurred. Many turn to SO.CREM Bologna every day: both people directly interested and relatives and friends who obtain information on behalf of third parties.
Cremation, the aims of SO.CREM Bologna since 1889
Promoting knowledge and increasing sensitivity towards the themes of death and post-mortem is one of the aims that SO.CREM Bologna has pursued since 1889, when it was founded. One of the oldest cremation companies in Italy. “A purpose – explains director Spiga – that we pursue alongside that of operationally supporting people who choose to be cremated once they have died or their families. For us these activities, the operational one and the awareness-raising one, are both very important, because it is also through cultural action that many prejudices have now fallen, with one person in three now in Italy, also following formal recognition by of the Church, chooses cremation as a form of burial”.
Burial practice recognized by the Church
Often the questions concern the Church’s position regarding cremation. An aspect on which director Spiga clarifies: “Since 1963, the Catholic Church has recognized the legitimacy of the crematory practice, as long as it is not chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine. An opinion reiterated in more recent times through the dissemination of the Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo, where it is reiterated, among other things, that ‘the cremation of the corpse does not touch the soul and does not prevent divine omnipotence from resurrecting the body and therefore does not contain the objective denial of the Christian doctrine on the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the bodies’”.
How cremation takes place: rules, times and costs
After all, the practice of cremation has been used since ancient times and at every latitude. “Today – explains director Spiga – this burial procedure which consists of reducing the corpse to ashes is carried out in special crematorium ovens. For health and hygiene (as well as economic) reasons, unless in exceptional situations, the body is cremated in the crematorium closest to the place of death, thus avoiding long and expensive transport, together with the coffin used”.
The times are quite rapid, although they may vary based on some conditions, including the number of deaths. Generally, however, about a week passes from the moment of death to that of cremation. “What we repeat – Spiga warns – is that it is not important to request a fast service, but to demand quality”.
Costs may also vary, but are generally lower than traditional funerals. “It depends – explains director Spiga – on the crematorium center where you are cremated, which establishes the rates for the citizens of your own municipality and neighboring ones. Indicatively, the cremation of an adult can cost between 500 and 700 euros. To this figure must be added the purchase of the coffin, the transport with the hearse, the dressing (i.e. the composition of the body inside the coffin, an operation carried out by funeral companies) and stamps/seals/taxes. Depending on the wishes of the deceased and his family – he clarifies – the costs for flowers, holy cards, ceremony (secular or religious), obituary must naturally be added. To get an overall estimate, you can contact a funeral company operating in your area”.
The legislation
Even if the legislation regulating cremation in Italy is clearly defined, some operational and bureaucratic aspects recommend relying on associations such as SO.CREM Bologna to facilitate and simplify the procedures. According to what is expressed by the relevant regulations (law no. 130/2001 and law no. 19/2004), the authorization for cremation is granted in compliance with the will expressed by the deceased through a testamentary disposition or precisely through the registration, certified by the representative legal, to recognized associations that have among their statutory purposes that of the cremation of the corpses of their members, such as SO.CREM Bologna. Registration that is valid even against the opinion of family members. In the absence of a testamentary provision, the will to cremate the deceased can be expressed by the spouse or, failing that, by all the closest relatives, signing the authorizations in presence. “The latter situation – explains Spiga – can create unpleasant disputes or bureaucratic difficulties if the deceased has no direct relatives or there is even just one who is against cremation or is unavailable. This is why signing up to a recognized association like SO.CREM Bologna is the clearest and most immediate way to enforce the will of the deceased person, relieving relatives of bureaucratic obligations. All aspects – concludes the director of SO.CREM. Bologna – which can be discussed and explored in depth, together with others, on 17 May in Ravenna”.
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