Baron Albert Keller, who, though of German descent, was an Italian citizen and a resident of Milan, and above all an enthusiastic patron of cremation, deposited 10,000 lire for the cineration of his own body, and directed that after defraying the costs of his cremation, the remaining money should be used to form a fund for the erection of a building exclusively devoted to the burning of the dead. When this nobleman died in 1874, his last directions were carried out, and the cremation temple which bears his name became, in accordance with the testament of the deceased, the property of the city of Milan. The Italian clergy opposed incineration but very little. In the capital of Lombardy a distinguished prelate even declared that the burning of the dead is in no wise contrary to the dogma of the church; and here one also can witness how priests accompany the body to be incinerated to the _Tempio Crematorio_, where they say a last prayer: indeed proof of tolerance and genuine Christianity. The Fourth Medical Congress held at Milan on the 5th of September, 1877, endorsed cremation, stating that it is a veritable scientific progress which has the advantage over inhumation in corresponding to the exigencies of hygiene. It also expressed its conviction that incineration in no way offends against the affection of families for their defunct, the respect and veneration for human remains, and the religions principles of the surviving. The Milan cremation society was organized chiefly through the efforts of Drs. Pini and Cristoforis, the latter being elected president. As the Polli-Clericetti apparatus in the crematorium had not given general satisfaction, the gasometer behind the temple was removed, in 1880, and suitable wings were built. Two furnaces were then erected, one being built on the Gorini system, in which the ordinary cremations are performed, and the other on the Venini system, where cremation of the remains of persons who died from contagious diseases, and of strangers, takes place. The building also has three columbaria, one on each side of the crematorium, and an ordinary one in the vaults below. Owing to the success of the Milan crematory, crematoria were built at Padua, Cremona, Varese, Lodi, Brescia, and Rome. A cinerary furnace was also speedily erected in the hospital at Spezzia, by order of the Secretary of the Navy; this apparatus was principally used for the cremation of cholera victims. The urns holding the ashes of the cremated cannot be removed from an Italian columbarium except by permission of the prefect of the province. The urns must be tightly closed, and must bear the name of the deceased and the date of his or her death. The ashes of only one body may be placed in an urn, the reverse being strictly forbidden. Every cremation is registered both by the board of trustees of the crematory and by the civil authorities.