Marche in central Italy is not exactly a tourist hotspot, and the little hill town of Jesi is even less renowned. Yet this spring, we drove half a day from Florence to Jesi solely to admire a peculiar cemetery.

Situated on the northern high ground, the cemetery was designed in the 1980s by architect Leonardo Ricci in a classic brutalist style. It comprises a series of concrete monoliths linked by corridors. On its eastern side, adjacent to the old cemetery, several almost otherworldly towers offer alternative views of the traditional burial grounds.

Ricci, once a student at the University of Florence and a pupil of the celebrated architect Giovanni Michelucci, is better known for his writings and acerbic critiques of Le Corbusier than for built projects. With little surviving of his work aside from a book titled Anonymous and an early Guggenheim proposal, the Jesi cemetery may arguably be his best realised legacy.

Controversial from its inception and much disfavoured by locals, the cemetery’s bizarre form, maze-like layout, and high costs have drawn criticism. Despite its current state of decay—with weathered concrete, peeling paint, and creaking steel stairs—it remains a site of genuine local visitation and remembrance.