the law forbade burials of bodies within city limits. The Scorpioni, a small group of elderly English ladies who lived in the city in the 1930s and 1940s, used to frequent the cemetery. Franco Zeffirelli based his semi-autobiographical film Tea with Mussolini on these expatriates. The Comune of Florence has now allowed the Swiss Church to reopen the cemetery for burials, but only of cremated remains, not bodies. The custodian of the cemetery is medieval scholar Julia Bolton Holloway, formerly a nun of the Anglican order Community of the Holy Family. Under her auspices, a library has been gathered, including books by and about those buried in the cemetery. Research is being carried out on the burial records in Britain, Russia and Italy, these being published in the virtual guidebook. An appeal seeks to continue restoring the cemetery after many years of neglect and abandonment. Its former beauty is recorded in Victorian era guidebooks and early sepia photographs, particularly those taken by Hiram Powers's son, Longworth Powers, now in the Gabinetto Vieusseux. See also Protestant Cemetery, Rome References External links Catalogue of Tombs in Cemetery Virtual Guide in English Guida Virtuale in italiano Cemeteries in Florence Anglican cemeteries in Europe Protestant Reformed cemeteries