If Venice grants you a few spare days, a pilgrimage to Tomba Brion in San Vito is essential. This extraordinary cemetery, long cherished by architects and artists, recently entered the public eye as a 'Dune' filming location. Many mistook Scarpa’s work for cinematic trickery, only to be astonished that this surreal sanctuary truly exists. Visitor numbers surged to nearly thirty thousand within months.

Designed in the 1960s by Carlo Scarpa upon the sudden passing of Giuseppe Brion, the tomb blends futurism with reverence. Scarpa, a friend of Brion, proposed this secluded site, understanding his love for the Veneto countryside. The Brion family entrusted Scarpa, who poured his wisdom and artistry into this place, unaware he, too, would be laid to rest here a decade later, interred standing in the tradition of medieval knights, embracing the earth.

In 2019, I visited. The air was still, the lotus pond calm, and Scarpa’s basalt archways cast shadows as the sun set. Visitors moved thoughtfully, as though in meditation. Here, Scarpa’s masterpiece seems to breathe, each element a quiet reminder of life’s transience, bound within enduring beauty.