Italian Cemetery

The grounds and mausoleums are beautiful and well maintained but the available visiting hours are horrible. Visiting ones family/​friends that have moved on is part of the grieving process and brings solace to those left behind. Not here… Hours of operation are extremely limited and closed for the Holidays. So much for bringing your Mom flowers on those special days…

If I had to do it all over again, I would not choose this cemetery for my parents. Their hours are very inconvenient. They close at 4:00 PM and I have to leave work early in order to visit my parents if a birthday or anniversary happens to fall on a weekday. They are buried in the mausoleum so there is no way I can get in after closing time. Yesterday, Christmas day, one of the biggest visiting day of the year, I went there at 3:43 thinking I would just go in and say a prayer and leave. T doors to the mausoleum by El Camino WERE CLOSED! And this is not the firs time this has happened. Not only they have inconvenient hours, but they even close before closing time. This is Christmas! When I buried my parents and we purchased a space, we entered into an agreement. We pay (and it wasn’t cheap) and you, Italian Cemetery, agree to have my parents buried there and allow us to visit during visiting hours. We kept our end of the agreement, but you are not keeping yours. You are a business. You need to keep business hours, that is, open when you say you will and close when you say you will. I think the person who closes up just wanted to get it over with and have the rest of the afternoon free. As I said, this is not the first time. It does not matter how nice the grounds are, how serene the ambiance is, if you can’t get in.

This has got to be the oddest review ever. But since it’s raining and I frequent this place for Mom, why not. Mom actually picked this place out years before with her sister who passed from cancer. They thought it was pretty well maintained and decided to buy plots next to each other. Well, my aunt passed quite a while before my Mom and when she finally did succumb to her own cancer, I went here to check about her plot and the staff were quick to find it and coordinate all we needed to do with the mortuary.
They do maintain the grounds very well. It’s always clean and pleasant when I visit Mom, which I probably should do more. Not sure if this will help anyone that is taking care of a passed loved one, but I hope it does to make it easier for your difficult time.

The statues and headstones in this cemetery are really striking and give a great ambiance. If you’re going for a stroll be sure to bring a camera. But leave your dog at home as they’re forbidden. (Boo.) And if you’re doing a tour of multiple cemeteries, hit this one first since it closes at 4:30pm. (Boo.)