Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Cementerio de la Recoleta
One of the world's great necropolises, Cementerio de la
Recoleta occupies an area of 14 acres (5.5 ha), easily the size
of an entire city block. Argentina's first president, Bernardino
Rivadavia, commissioned French architect Próspero Catelin to
design the cemetery, which opened in 1822. It boasts wide
leafy avenues, narrow, marble-walled streets, smart, polished
façades, and small, dark alleys. There are more than 6,400
tombs and mausoleums in the cemetery, more than 70 of
which are recognized as National Historic Monuments. The
architecture is eclectic, ranging from bombastic Greco-Roman
mini-palaces to wedding-cake-style experiments in
Romanticism to earthy-looking piles of stones.
One of the central tree-lined avenues of
the cemetery
Narrow Lanes
These are laid out in a
grid fashion, replicating
the city beyond, and
turning the quiet
necropolis into a marble
labyrinth - cold,
impenetrable, and
slightly eerie.
Tomb of Sáenz
Peña
, a former
president.
José Hernández's Tomb
Author of the national
poetry epic
Martín Fierro
,
Hernández is one of
several writers to have a
tomb among the rich
and powerful. He is laid
to rest in an elegant
white mausoleum.
Tomb of
Bartolomé
Mitre
, a former
president and
the founder of
La Nación
.
.
Eva Perón's Tomb
A simple black stone affair, the tomb attracts a
large number of pilgrims and tourists, all of
whom pause to read a plaque with an extract
from her famous “I will be millions” speech.
Key
Suggested route
For hotels and restaurants see pp278-83 and pp288-99
