In the late 16th century, the English Levant Company, trading with the Ottoman Empire, established a significant commercial presence in the city they knew as Leghorn.

Some sources say that in 1594 the burial ground was opened by authorization of the Grand Duke Ferdinando I, who had recently completed a commercial agreement with Queen Elizabeth I.

Initially the cemetery was unenclosed, which was rectified by the erection of railings in 1745, thanks to a substantial bequest from the wealthy merchant Robert Bateman.

After the Second World War the cemetery was to be found hidden behind a large six-storey apartment-block, showing the distinct lack of sensitivity of the local administration of the time.

The cemetery is a large quadrangle, characterized by dense arboreal vegetation, with century-old cypress trees and various Mediterranean plants.