The carnaio, that is the communal pit for the hospital's deceased, was established on a virgin plot of land located behind the future Palazzo del Rettore and up against the city walls of the time. The bodies thrown into it were then covered with layers of lime. By then absorbed within the hospital, the so-called "great burial" was closed in 1572 because it was full. Already in the 15th century another burial place was located outside the hospital complex, which was completely renovated between 1442 and 1445. It was situated on a corner of the garden behind the hospital, at the end of San Girolamo alley. The burial place of Santa Maria della Scala remained here until 1764, when poor hygienic conditions prompted Rector Girolamo Pannilini to request the concession of a plot of land located outside Porta S. Marco to build a new cemetery there and free the hospital's buildings. This was the first cemetery outside the walls for the use of Santa Maria, located at the top of Giuggiolo Street. It had a short life, because exactly twenty years later, under the new grand-ducal legislation, a new one had to be built outside Porta Laterina, which still exists today.