CEMETERIES OF THE WORLD

From Mexico to France to South Africa you will find burial places of surpassing beauty and tranquility, as well as those less-tended and those entirely sad grave-sites which have been abandoned to the elements and vagrancies of time. This page is for the avid cemetery explorer who cannot resist the lure of final resting places.

MEXICO

The well-tended cemeteries with the distinctive cheerful garlands of bright flowers on the graves are visited by family members throughout the year, but on The Day of Souls, also known as The Day of the Dead, special candle-light vigils are held at family grave-sites through the night. Favourite refreshments and beverages of the deceased are brought along for the living to share with their dead relatives. Mexican children look forward to the annual Day of the Dead because they know there will be plenty of sugar skulls and other delicious home-baked confectionaries on offer. The quirky mischievous skeleton that has come to symbolise the Mexican approach to death appears in many forms.

FRANCE, PENNE-D’AGENAIS

Set on the crest of Penne-d’Agenais, the beautiful centuries-old cemetery is a peaceful haven for a hot thirsty traveller. The graves are decorated with carved tombstones of marble and granite, their ancient history inscribed into cold stone by master craftsmen whose skills have been passed down through generations. In these tranquil surroundings the ever-changing mountain and valley views combined with the fresh hilltop air regenerate body and soul. A row of ancient copper taps is kept busy by villagers who tend small gardens around the family gravesite, carrying water in containers. The colourful blooms of spring bulbs bear testimony to their loving dedication

ITALY, VENICE, ISOLA DI SAN MICHELE

The cemetery island of San Michele, sometimes known as the Island of the Dead and once a prison Island, has been used by Venetians since the early 1800s to bury their dead. It is a magnificent example of a city of silence.

“The church at the corner of the island is beautifully cool, austere and pallid, and is tended by soft-footed Franciscans … The cemetery itself is wide and calm, a series of huge gardens, studded with cypress trees and awful monuments.”
The World of Venice, by Jan Morris.

“…take time to visit the Protestant and Orthodox cemeteries, which are less formal and more neglected than the Catholic sections. Foreign celebrities like Ezra Pound, Serge Diaghilev (whose grave is normally decorated with a ballet slipper), and Igor Stravinsky are buried there.”

SOUTH AFRICA, WESTERN CAPE, ASHTON

Set on a hillside above the village of Ashton in the Western Cape is the airy well-tended local graveyard, an unexpected oasis of flaming bougainvellea and swaying palm tree fronds under a cobalt blue sky. It is a place of beauty and solace where mourners can eat a sandwich under a tree in the therapeutic company of a light-fingered oxygen-saturated breeze, while they contemplate those who have gone, those still living and those yet to come.

SOUTH AFRICA, WESTERN CAPE, GIFBERG FARM

The Gifberg farm near Vanrhynsdorp has been in the Huisamen family for three generations. The graves of the great grandparents and a child are in the middle of the farm orchard. From here the ancestors have an uninterrupted view over mountains and ravines while a giant trumpet creeper stands guard. They are surrounded by flowing water and rock formations with bushman paintings. This is a resting place of rustic and tranquil beauty.