Fewer than 200 free spots remain in San Marino’s cemeteries, against roughly 300 deaths a year. In some castelli, finding a burial niche has become virtually impossible.
To tackle the emergency, the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) has given the green light to Delegated Decree no. 118 on mortuary police regulations, which revises the expiry terms for niche and ossuary concessions and paves the way for new exhumations to free up space.
The measure, ratified on Wednesday, November 4, with 24 votes in favor, 5 against and one abstention, split the majority and opposition, particularly over the State’s ability to reclaim niches assigned decades ago.
Secretary of State for Internal Affairs Andrea Belluzzi laid out the scale of the problem to the chamber, presenting stark figures. “We have an extremely critical situation. In Faetano we have no free niches and only 17 ground burial plots.
In Serravalle there are neither ground plots nor free niches available. In Montalbo we have 80 free ground plots but no available niches.”
The shortage now affects almost the entire territory, with Montegiardino and Chiesanuova the only cemeteries without particular problems. Around 300 deaths are registered in the Republic each year: in 200 cases families request a traditional burial, while in about a hundred cases cremation is chosen directly.
According to Belluzzi, this latter choice is sometimes made precisely so the deceased can rest in their own castello’s cemetery, where otherwise there would be no room.
The decree therefore aims to free up space within existing cemeteries by acting on the oldest concessions. The reference point is 1957, chosen as the first watershed for reorganizing expiry deadlines.
From 2027, some niches granted in that year and never used could also be reclaimed by the authorities. According to the government, this measure will help free up spots especially in Faetano and Montalbo.
“Within three years we must ensure that free spots are available in all our cemeteries so our fellow citizens can be buried wherever they wish. Today that is not possible,” Belluzzi explained. The secretary assured that the issue is being handled with sensitivity, but reiterated that action can no longer be postponed.
Exhumations represent one of the most delicate steps in the entire operation. Councillor Marinella Loredana Chiaruzzi (PDCS) noted that a company has already been identified to carry out the operations, and called for strengthening the civil registry office staff tasked with handling paperwork and communications with families.
Belluzzi announced informational meetings in the castelli and specific training for staff responsible for contacting relatives before the interventions.
The possibility also remains, in applicable cases, of renewing concessions and reuniting the remains or ashes of multiple family members in the same niche.
It is precisely over families’ right to keep niches assigned in the past that the political clash centered. Fabio Righi (D-ML) observed that for years many citizens were led to believe they were purchasing a niche outright, rather than simply acquiring the right to use it for a set period.
Antonella Mularoni (RF) said she had seen documents explicitly referring to “sale,” and warned that altering assignments made before 2010 without reaching agreement with families could trigger a long string of disputes. There is also the issue of Sammarinese citizens living abroad, who might return to the Republic only to discover that their relatives’ remains had been moved without their knowledge.
Nicola Renzi (RF) took a similar stance, arguing that in the past there had been genuine buying and selling, with niches purchased from the State and later resold privately. “In our view, the expropriation of acquired rights is not acceptable,” he said.
Belluzzi countered by recalling that the 2010 reform clarified the nature of these assignments, defining them as concessions rather than sales. The secretary nonetheless announced further checks on transfers made over the years, missing registrations, and the precise identification of niches.
Silvia Cecchetti (PSD) noted that, should disputes over ownership arise, it would be up to the courts to resolve them, while it is the role of politics to guarantee access to burial.
The opposition also challenged the choice to focus mainly on recovering existing spots rather than building new cemeteries. Maria Katia Savoretti (RF) presented a motion calling for an area to be identified for a new cemetery, potentially a monumental and memorial one, with dedicated spaces for ashes and for burials using biodegradable capsules.
The proposal also calls for safeguarding acquired rights, increasing the cremation subsidy, and reporting back to the Council within six months.
Gaetano Troina (D-ML) asked why, sixteen years after the 2010 reform, cemeteries have still not been expanded where suitable land exists. Righi suggested also considering involving private parties, should they make usable land available.
The majority, meanwhile, defended the need to act immediately. Matteo Rossi (PSD) backed the decision to limit expansions and make better use of existing space. “We need to find a way to create space within existing cemeteries,” he stressed, noting that the problem has been known for years and that several opposition figures have themselves held government posts.
Tommaso Rossini (PSD) observed that building a new cemetery would take time and would not necessarily solve the issue for those who wish to be buried in their own castello. Ilaria Baciocchi (PSD) also defended the decree, describing it as the result of a process begun in previous legislatures.
On the construction front, work in Fiorentino is expected to be completed in early 2027, while the Domagnano site will break ground the same year, though it will only free up a limited number of spots.
Secretary of State Matteo Ciacci pointed to 2027 as the year when planned works in Fiorentino, Faetano, Domagnano and Acquaviva should be completed. “The main goal we have set as a government and as a majority is to ensure our fellow citizens can be buried in the castello where they reside,” he explained.
The debate also touched on cremation, with the public subsidy cut from €1,000 to €500. Renzi and Mularoni criticized the halving of the financial support, noting that the shortage of niches risks influencing a decision that should remain a personal one. Sara Conti (RF) also urged the introduction of the Capsula Mundi, a biodegradable capsule over which a tree is planted.
Ciacci said a trial of this solution is currently underway.
Mirko Dolcini (D-ML) called instead for revising the timeframe for exhuming ground burials, suggesting twenty or twenty-five years rather than ten. “Exhuming a body just ten years after burial really seems far too soon,” he observed.
Belluzzi said he was open to looking further into the matter.
Among other requests, Vladimiro Selva (Libera) proposed giving priority to a surviving spouse when a spot becomes available next to an already-buried family member. Manuel Ciavatta (PDCS) called for funding the expansions already planned, while Dolcini also raised the difficulties faced by citizens who, for religious reasons, are forced to seek burial outside the Republic.
The condition of the mortuary chamber was also discussed, with Sara Conti deeming it inadequate, including for civil farewell ceremonies.
In closing, Belluzzi returned to the political responsibility for an emergency that, in his view, has dragged on for far too long. “If we really want to be intellectually honest, then we must say that the responsibility is collective — that of a political class which never confronted the cemetery emergency and never resolved this crucial issue.”
The decree was then ratified with 24 votes in favor, 5 against and one abstention, paving the way for the application of the new deadlines and for niche-recovery operations to begin in 2027.
