Vaccaro Mausoleum
Classical
Three Vaccaro’s (Joseph, Felix and Luca) have mausoleums on Metairie Avenue, but the Luca Vaccaro mausoleum, built in 1925, is the most interesting. It is a personal interpretation of the Tower of the Winds in Athens. The Tower of the Winds c. 40 BC., an octagonal building designed by Andronicus Cyrrus, served as a weather guide and water clock. On each of the 8 frieze panels were carvings of personified winds. The structure in Athens had three porticos (one round and two square) attached to its sides. For the Vaccaro mausoleum, sculptor Theodore Bottinelli, carved some frieze panels as they appear in the Athenian temple, but for other panels he chose more funerary themes, such as a young man holding a torch and an hourglass and a young woman playing a harp.
Photos and text © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page
[address cemetery=”Metairie Cemetery” street=”5101 Pontchartrain Boulevard” city=”New Orleans” state=”Louisiana” zip=”70124″]
