Mausoleum Faccanoni

Prior to the construction of the mausoleum, the cemetery of Sarnico was modest, square in shape, surrounded by a wall and equipped with a small church and a mortuary. It was the intention of the Faccanoni to give the local cemetery, on the occasion of the construction of their mausoleum, a more dignified aspect, especially as regards the background; for this they proposed to the authorities to demolish the small church and the mortuary, offering to build a mausoleum which, in addition to the tombs for their families, contained a new church, a chapel and a mortuary more suitable for the new arrangement. For this purpose they also offered land adjacent to the cemetery on which to erect the new building in order to expand the cemetery and also create an area dedicated to the burial of children.

Thus arose the new construction, which the architect built in grandiose and massive forms so as not to get lost in the background formed by the stone quarries dug in the mountains. Behind the mausoleum was planted a massive row of large trees that made the outline of the building even clearer. The mausoleum added to the area of ​​the primitive cemetery is accessed via a large staircase that leads to the funerary shrine where, at the time of construction, a crypt capable of 34 columbaria and a special monument for the client's family were located; above the crypt there is a small chapel for religious functions accessible via two lateral stairways. The entire mausoleum is connected to the old cemetery by means of low buildings arranged in an exedra: on the left a chapel for the clergy, on the right the new mortuary. Later the clients added some columbaria which were sold to the local administration for the burials of the local dead.
The mausoleum is built almost entirely with materials taken on site: the plinth is in serizzo from the Val Seriana; the Brembate block monument; the upper floors in simona stone and the steps in Sarnico stone.
The entrance gate to the crypt is in bronze and wrought iron as are the chandeliers and interior decorations, designed by Sommaruga himself. The head of Christ above the crypt monument is the work of the sculptor Astolfi while the putti on the top are by Ambrogio Pirovano.
In the mausoleum there is also the tomb of General Alberico Albricci and his wife. They rest in the upper part more impressive than the lower one, used as the crypt of the Faccanoni family.

Andrea Speziali recognizes a fitting tribute to the building in the monograph "Giuseppe Sommaruga (1867-1917). A protagonist of Liberty", CartaCanta publisher 2017.