City of the dead

La Recoleta Cemetery is located in the exclusive neighbourhood of the same name in Buenos Aires and is the final resting place of many influential and important Argentines. Perhaps the most important or rather well known being Eva Duarte de Perón or as most people know her Evita!



Neo-classical gates with tall Greek columns welcome visitors to this necropolis however the cemetery contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums.









Each mausoleum bears the family name etched into the facade; brass or bronze plaques are added to the front for particular family members. While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair. Several can be found with broken glass, littered with rubbish.





La Recolta is the final resting place of statesmen such as Juan Bautista Alberdi (1810-1884), Nicolás Avellaneda (1837-1885), Miguel Juárez Celman (1844-1909), Arturo Umberto Illia (1900-1983),Bartolomé Mitre (1821-1906), Honorio Pueyrredón (1876-1945), Hipólito Yrigoyen (1852-1933), (most of which have streets named after them) as well as people such as William Brown (1777-1857), Admiral, Father of the Argentine Navy, Susan Barrantes, (1937-1998), mother of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Enrique Larreta (1875-1961), writer, Luis F. Leloir (1906-1987), scientist, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, and Carlos Menditeguy (1915-1973), race car driver and sportsman.



Traditionally La Recoleta is one of those cemeteries where the tradition of engraving a death date but no birth date has been maintained and another practice that we might not be too familiar with, is that of having coffins placed within the crypt, visible to all rather than buried deep in the ground.

Although perhaps not as famous as Père-Lachaise (Paris, France and reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery) La Recoleta still is manages to attract thousands of visitors annually, perhaps thanks to the fact of it being the final resting place of Eva Duarte de Peron.

All photos Copyright - Maria Vella-Galea 2008