The project for a municipal cemetery in Rome first surfaced during Napoleon's times. Works began in 1811 in the selected area, close to the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura [outside the city wall], a plot that originally belonged to the Verani family. In 1859 new works began, on the basis of a plan by Virginio Vespignani.
Overall, the aspect of the Cemetery is typified by the original XIX century structure by Vespignani (gateway, Quadriportico and Chapel), that are matched, in terms of architectural and urban quality, by the remarkable structures of the Pincetto vecchio and the
Pincetto nuovo, with especially valuable items from the last decades of the XIX century onwards.

The cemetery hosts several works by major Roman and Italian architects and sculptors. To mention but a few authors: G. Koch, Pio and Marcello Piacentini, G. Monteverde, E. Ximenes, P. Canonica, E. Ferrari, D. Cambellotti.  The series of XIX century funerary portraits by Filippo Severati are especially interesting, due to the originality of materials and their inherent quality: they are painted on lava and represent an important gallery of the affluent Roman bourgeoisie, who, as clients, required artefacts up to their role.