Sometimes a bereavement catches us completely unprepared, other times we may be better prepared, but in any case, we need someone who, with sensitivity and professionalism, can help us understand what needs to be done. Carrying out the necessary bureaucratic paperwork, organising the funeral rite, enquiring at cemeteries. These are all necessary, yet tiring tasks for those who have just lost a loved one.

It used to be that when a person died they would keep them at home for the wake and visits from relatives and friends. In some places, especially in southern Italy, this is still the custom, while in others it is preferred to move these moments away from the home for various reasons, both organisational and space-related and purely emotional.

To be able to write in the pages of this magazine is an honour and a great pleasure for me. On this occasion, I would like to follow in the footsteps of the article I wrote last month, dealing with a subject dear to me, which was the subject of an examination during my studies in history at the University of Pisa: 'The Anthropology of Death and Mourning'.

Deaths in hospitals and the choice of funeral directors Uses and malpractices of health care directors The choice of the funeral company to be entrusted with the funeral service must be "always absolutely free", this also applies to deaths occurring in health care facilities.