La Recoleta Cemetery facts for kids

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La Recoleta Cemetery

Cementerio de la Recoleta
Aerial view of the cemetery
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Details
Established	1822
Location	Junín 1760, Buenos Aires
Country	Argentina
Type	Public
Size	5.5 hectares (14 acres)
No. of graves	4691 vaults

La Recoleta Cemetery (Spanish: Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and military commanders like Julio Argentino Roca. In 2011, the BBC hailed it as one of the world's best cemeteries, and in 2013, CNN listed it among the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world.

History

Franciscan Recollect monks (los recoletos) arrived in this area, then the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in the early eighteenth century. The cemetery is built around the Recollect Convent (Convento de la Recoleta) and a church, Our Lady of the Pillar (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar), built in 1732.

The order was disbanded in 1822, and the garden of the convent was converted into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Inaugurated on 17 November of the same year under the name of Cementerio del Norte (Northern Cemetery), those responsible for its creation were the then-Governor Martin Rodríguez, who would be eventually buried in the cemetery, and government minister Bernardino Rivadavia.

The 1822 layout was done by French civil engineer Próspero Catelin, who also designed the current facade of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. The cemetery was last remodeled in 1881, while Torcuato de Alvear was mayor of the city, by the Italian architect Juan Antonio Buschiazzo.

Description

Set in 5.5 hectares (14 acres), the site contains 4691 vaults, all above ground, of which 94 have been declared National Historical Monuments by the Argentine government and are protected by the state. The entrance to the cemetery is through neo-classical gates with tall Doric columns. The cemetery contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles such as Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Baroque, and Neo-Gothic, and most materials used between 1880 and 1930 in the construction of tombs were imported from Paris and Milan. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. These mausoleums are still being used by rich families in Argentina that have their own vault and keep their deceased there. While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair. Several can be found with broken glass and littered with rubbish. Among many memorials are works by notable Argentine sculptors, Lola Mora and Luis Perlotti for instance. The tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak, due to its unusual design, is of special interest.

View of one of the alleys

Notable interments

View of the domes.

Mausoleum of President Carlos Pellegrini.

Mausoleum of Tomas Devoto

Mausoleum of Dr. Virgilio Tedín

Liza Minnelli visiting tomb of First Lady Eva Perón in 1973

Mausoleum of Dorrego-Ortiz Basualdo family

Mausoleum of Leandro N. Alem

Mausoleum of Manuel J. Campos.

Mausoleum of Salvador Maria del Carril

Mausoleum of Lartigau family

Mausoleum of Ramón L Falcón

Tomb of Rufina Cambaceres

Tomb of Juan Bautista Alberdi

Mausoleum of Nobel Prize laureate Luis Federico Leloir.

Mausoleum of General Luis María Campos, designed by French sculptor Jules Coutan.

Mausoleum of Dr Francisco Javier Muñiz (1807–1871) heroe of the Yellow Fever epidemic in Buenos Aires.

Tomb of General Miguel Estanislao Soler.

Mausoleum of President Nicolás Avellaneda, devised by the aforementioned French sculptor Jules Coutan.

Mausoleum of statesman, diplomat, and journalist José Clemente Paz, created by French sculptor Jules Coutan.

Mausoleum of President Manuel Quintana

Tomb of Francisco Gómez

Birth	Death	Personality		Notes	Ref(s)
1914	1999	Adolfo Bioy Casares	Adolfo Bioy Casares	Fiction writer, journalist, translator, and Miguel de Cervantes Prize recipient.
1876	1943	Agustín Pedro Justo	Agustín Pedro Justo	President of Argentina.
1921	2012	Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat	Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat	Businesswoman and philanthropist.
1805	1871	Anthony Dominic Fahy	Anthony Dominic Fahy	Catholic priest, missionary and head of the Irish community in Argentina (1844–1871)
1914	1981	Armando Bó	Armando Bó	Actor, film director, and screenwriter.
1900	1983	Arturo Umberto Illia	Arturo Umberto Illia	President of Argentina.
1821	1906	Bartolomé Mitre	Bartolomé Mitre	President of Argentina.
1840	1902	Cándido López	Cándido López	Soldier, painter, and student of Italian artist Baldassare Verazzi.
1827	1918	Carlos Guido y Spano	Carlos Guido y Spano	Poet.
1789	1852	Carlos María de Alvear	Carlos María de Alvear	Soldier, statesman, and Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
1846	1906	Carlos Pellegrini	Carlos Pellegrini	President of Argentina.
1878	1959	Carlos Saavedra Lamas	Carlos Saavedra Lamas	Academic, politician, and the first Latin American Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
1759	1829	Cornelio Saavedra	Cornelio Saavedra	President of the First Assembly and military officer.
1758	1820	Cosme Argerich	Cosme Argerich	Military physician.
1800	1875	Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield	Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield	Lawyer, politician, and writer of the Civil Code of Argentina.
1811	1888	Domingo Faustino Sarmiento	Domingo Faustino Sarmiento	President of Argentina.
1896	1956	Eduardo Lonardi	Eduardo Lonardi	President of Argentina.
1903	1982	Eduardo Mallea	Eduardo Mallea	Essayist, cultural critic, writer, and diplomat.
1844	1913	Eduardo Wilde	Eduardo Wilde	Physician, politician, and writer.
1875	1951	Elpidio González	Elpidio González	Politician and Vice President of Argentina.
1919	1952	Eva Perón	Eva Perón	First Lady of Argentina and founder of the Eva Perón Foundation.
1788	1835	Facundo Quiroga	Facundo Quiroga	Caudillo and subject of the book Facundo, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's most prominent work.
1785	1827	Federico de Brandsen	Federico de Brandsen	French-born Colonel.
1835	1899	Federico Lacroze	Federico Lacroze	Businessman and railway entrepreneur.
1795	1871	Francisco Javier Muñiz	Francisco Javier Muñiz	Argentine physician, naturalist and politician
1821	1890	Guillermo Rawson	Guillermo Rawson	Physician and politician.
1852	1933	Hipólito Yrigoyen	Hipólito Yrigoyen	President of Argentina.
1847	1847	Isabelle Colonna-Walewski —	Isabelle Colonna-Walewski	Daughter of Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski and grandchild of Napoleon.
1842	1912	José Clemente Paz	José Clemente Paz	Statesman, diplomat, and journalist.
1860	1931	José Figueroa Alcorta	José Figueroa Alcorta	President of Argentina.
1834	1886	José Hernández	José Hernández	Journalist, politician, poet, and creator of Argentina's national epic, the Martín Fierro.
1910	1975	José María Guido	José María Guido	President of Argentina.
1758	1833	Juan José Paso	Juan José Paso	Politician and member of the First Assembly, the First Triumvirate, and the Second Triumvirate.
1797	1841	Juan Lavalle	Juan Lavalle	General and Governor of Buenos Aires Province.
1793	1877	Juan Manuel de Rosas	Juan Manuel de Rosas	Brigadier and Governor of Buenos Aires Province. Initially buried at Southampton Old Cemetery in the United Kingdom, repatriated in 1989.
1843	1914	Julio Argentino Roca	Julio Argentino Roca	President of Argentina.
1841	1896	Leandro Nicéforo Alem	Leandro Nicéforo Alem	Politician.
1874	1938	Leopoldo Lugones	Leopoldo Lugones	Writer and journalist.
1831	1913	Lucio Victorio Mansilla	Lucio Victorio Mansilla	General, writer, journalist, politician, and diplomat.
1894	1960	Luis Ángel Firpo	Luis Ángel Firpo	Professional boxer and the first Latin American to challenge for the world heavyweight champion title.
1906	1987	Luis Federico Leloir	Luis Federico Leloir	Biochemist, physician, and the first Spanish-speaking Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate.
1838	1907	Luis María Campos	Luis María Campos	General and founder of the Escuela Superior de Guerra (Superior School of War).
1822	1907	Luis Sáenz Peña	Luis Sáenz Peña	President of Argentina.
1791	1871	Luis Vernet	Luis Vernet	German-born merchant of Huguenot descent and the first Argentine appointed as Governor of Puerto Luis (nowadays the Falkland Islands).
1787	1828	Manuel Dorrego	Manuel Dorrego	Military officer and Governor of Buenos Aires Province. Mausoleum designed by Carlo Zucchi.
1835	1906	Manuel Quintana	Manuel Quintana	President of Argentina.
1868	1942	Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear	Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear	President of Argentina.
1887	1970	Mariette Lydis	Mariette Lydis	Austrian-born painter and illustrator.
1786	1868	Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson	Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson	Patriot.
1922	1991	Martín Karadagián	Martín Karadagian	Actor, professional wrestler, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame inductee.
1851	1905	Miguel Cané	Miguel Cané	Writer, lawyer, academic, journalist, and politician.
1754	1833	Miguel de Azcuénaga	Miguel de Azcuénaga	General, politician, and member of the First Assembly.
1783	1849	Miguel Estanislao Soler	Miguel Estanislao Soler	General and politician.
1837	1885	Nicolás Avellaneda	Nicolás Avellaneda	President of Argentina.
1891	1967	Oliverio Girondo	Oliverio Girondo	Poet.
1859	1936	Pablo Ricchieri	Pablo Ricchieri	Military officer and Minister of War.
1848	1929	Paul Groussac	Paul Groussac	French-born writer, literary critic, historian, and librarian.
1903	1970	Pedro Eugenio Aramburu	Pedro Eugenio Aramburu	President of Argentina.
1927	2009	Raúl Alfonsín	Raúl Alfonsín	President of Argentina.
1926	2016	María Lorenza Barreneche	María Lorenza Barreneche	First Lady of Argentina. Widow of Raúl Alfonsín.
1797	1823	Remedios de Escalada	Remedios de Escalada	Wife of libertador José de San Martín.
1851	1914	Roque Sáenz Peña	Roque Sáenz Peña	President of Argentina.
1903	1993	Silvina Ocampo	Silvina Ocampo	Poet, translator, and writer.
1802	1869	Valentín Alsina	Valentín Alsina	Governor of Buenos Aires Province.
1785	1856	Vicente López y Planes	Vicente López y Planes	Poet, politician, and creator of the lyrics of the Argentine National Anthem.
1890	1979	Victoria Ocampo	Victoria Ocampo	Writer, intellectual, and the first woman admitted to the Argentine Academy of Letters.
1840	1919	Victorino de la Plaza	Victorino de la Plaza	President of Argentina.
1777	1857	William Brown	William Brown	Irish-born Admiral and founder of the Argentine Navy.
1856	1902	Zenón Rolón	Zenón Rolón	Musician and composer.
1920	1999	Zully Moreno	Zully Moreno	Actress.

Boy angel statue La Recoleta Cemetery 9-7-2011 Buenos Aires Argentina

See also

In Spanish: Cementerio de la Recoleta para niños