And because her mother was so amazed by this, she took a photo of Julia resting in all of her perfect glory and had that secured to the monument as well! Seems normal to do, right!?!? To everyone’s surprise, Julia was still very well preserved, even though her child and coffin were not. These dreams were relentless, and so she got permission to exhume her daughter. She kept having dreams that Julia was still alive. She was buried with her son Filippo, and the story ends here, right?Ī few years after Julia’s death, her mother was haunted with nightmares. As you can see, there is a photo of Julia on her wedding day secured to the front of the stone. It was common during those times for women to be buried in their wedding gowns. She was buried in her wedding dress, which was most likely because it was the nicest dress she owned at that time. Julia Petta was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Hillside, Illinois suburb. Her life was cut short when she died in 1921 at the age of 29, She died while giving birth to her stillborn son, Filippo. While not much is known about her young life, we do know that she married Matthew Petta. Julia Buccola Petta was a young gal born in 1892 to Filomena Buccola. Haunted Graves: The Tale of the Italian Bride Julia Petta But I will warn you, this is a spooky tale! Read on, and learn more about this tale of love, death, and mystery! So what is Julia’s story exactly? Oh gather round, I will tell you. You can’t help but look at it and feel sadness and grief, knowing this was Julia’s parents final tribute to her. It’s breathtaking really, much more grand and detailed than stones you see today.
I had read about Julia before and was quite intrigued by her story, so I was sure to search her out and see her grave for myself. It is massive, with a detailed statue of Julia in her wedding gown resting on top. Her gravestone is easy to find, as it sits right on the edge of the cemetery near a quiet road. One of the most famous residents of Hillside is Chicago Gangster Al Capone, who we stopped and said hello to…īut another famous resident of Mount Carmel is Julia Petta, otherwise known as The Italian Bride.
I love old architecture, history, and all things spooky so with a nip in the air and dark clouds hovering over we started exploring Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. and I did some exploring last weekend, which ultimately ended us up in some old cemeteries.
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