Recoleta Cemetery

I've been meaning to go to this place almost ever since I got to BsAs.

Recoleta is a posh part of BsAs and the cemetery is the last resting ground of it's rich and famous - and, of course, this includes Eva (Evita) Peron (although her husband, Juan, didn't make it here and is buried in a slightly less posh place (Chacarita Cemetery), however Evita's family had a mausoleum here and here she is kept (buried isn't quite right as the coffins don't go into the ground).



The cemetery is a wonderful place, full of grandiose buildings in many different styles. The mausoleums range from simple brick built boxes (some so narrow that there's just room to get the coffin in) through to ornate miniature cathedrals (one reminded me of Westminster Abbey). The building materials are similarly varied with bricks, sandstone, granite, marble and a host of other materials I can't identify. All of them have windows of some sort so you can see either the coffins or the stairs down to the vault. Quite often the windows are stained glass and, like all stained glass windows, are meant to be seen from inside the building. I got this photo by looking though a window in a door.


Even though it's in the middle of the city, it is very quiet because it's surrounded by a pedestrian only area (and several expensive hotels) although there is a good market not far away - I even bought a pair of earrings. So there's no sound of cars just the whirr of camera and birdsong. While there I was stopped by three people who tried to ask me in Spanish where Eva Peron's mausoleum was. The look of relief on their faces must have echoed my own when I replied in English - and they found what they were looking for!