Christopher Columbus Necropolis . Great funerary urban complex, has more than 130 years of existence. It is the largest of the 21 existing cemeteries in Havana . It was declared a National Monument by Resolution 51 of the National Monuments Council of February 18, 1987 .
It has 57 hectares, it is one of the most important cemeteries in the country for its artistic-cultural, architectural and historical values.
Numerous personalities of great national significance, and others internationally known, have been buried in the “Cristóbal Colón” Necropolis. Through them, and the events to which they are associated, it is possible to represent the history of Cuba from the moment the nation began to be constituted to the present day.
The monuments built to perpetuate the memory of these personalities and the events that have marked milestones in the history of Cuba, constitute a faithful testimony of the formation of the identity of its people.
Summary
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- 1 History
- 1 Antecedents
- 2 Location and project of the new cemetery
- 3 Construction works
- 4 Cemetery expansion
- 5 Intervention and nationalization
- 6 Declaration of National Monument
- 7 Protocol Books and Burial Books
- 8 Societies and associations
- 2 Overview
- 1 Main cover
- 2 Architectural style
- 3 Avenues and streets
- 4Muro perimetral
- 5Capilla central
- 6 Tobias Gallery
- 7 Funerary architectural typologies
- 8 Materials of construction
- 9 Artistic manifestations
- 3 Management and sociocultural promotion
- 4 Servants
- 1 Other services
- 5 Curiosities of the Necropolis
- 1 Epitaph
- 6 internal links
- 7 References
- 8 Fountains
History
Background
For approximately three centuries, since the foundation in the 16th century of the Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana, the idea of burying in churches prevailed in the city, although provisional cemeteries were opened when there was a need, for example, in the face of a great epidemic . In April 1804 a Royal Order prohibited burial in churches and dictated the construction of cemeteries outside the cities.
The first cemetery built in Havana was the result of the ideas and impulse of Bishop Juan José Díaz de Espada y Landa. It was called General Cemetery of Havana, or, in honor of its founder, “Sword Cemetery”. It was built outside the walls, on land located to the west of the city, in the vicinity of the San Lázaro cove. It was expanded over the years, reaching a total area of 43,215 square yards. It was divided into five patios, and the characteristics of the land led to its being buried in walled niches covered with tombstones, which are among the first funerary works produced in Havana. In September 1878, its closure was ordered, since it was already insufficient for the growing number of burials. In 1901, they began to move all the remains that remained there to the Colón cemetery. During the Second American Intervention, in 1908, the North American Military Governor Charles Magoon ordered the demolition of the walls of the Sword Cemetery, still standing. The land was then sold and developed.
Location and project of the new cemetery
In 1854, the Governor General of Cuba, Marqués de Pezuela, aware of the spatial limitations of the Espada Cemetery, conceived the idea of building a new cemetery in Havana, of greater proportions and excellence. His project involved moving the remains of Admiral Christopher Columbus to the new location, which would be named in his honor. When he was relieved of his position, the idea fell into oblivion, until 1858, when at the initiative of Messrs. José Bruzón and José Silverio Jorrín, councilors of the City Council of Havana, it was resumed and a commission was appointed to choose the land where it would be built. .
The space selected was a square next to it on the west side of the Prince’s Castle, a decision that did not satisfy the military authorities, who alleged it would obstruct the defense in that part of the city. The Bishopric of Havana also disagreed with the City Council’s proposal, since it considered that the works of a Catholic cemetery were its competence. After several litigations, it was determined that the right corresponded to the Bishopric, and by a Royal Decree, published in the Gazette on June 28, 1866, authorization was given so that, prior agreement with the civil and health authorities for the choice of the place , the work will be done. To this end, a commission of civil servants, engineers and doctors was appointed, who discarded the space next to the Castle of the Chosen Prince in 1858,
Aerial view of the Cristóbal Colón Necropolis
Up to June 14, 1869, 1,284 cords of earth had been acquired for the new necropolis belonging to the ranches “La Currita” by Mercedes Muñoz, “La Baeza” by Carlos Baeza, and “La Noria” by the heirs of Gertrudis Rey. The shape of these lands was irregular and did not lend itself to the grid required by the holy field, so 79.68 cords were acquired from the “La Campana” farm, 108.16 from “La Portuguesa” and 121.25 from “Las Torres”, the surrounding farms. This successive acquisition of land occurred by agreement and/or forced expropriation. In part of the land of the “La Currita” ranch, a provisional cemetery was set up, surrounded by boards and called the “San Antonio Chiquito” cemetery (it was located in part of what is now the NE barracks),[1]
In November 1870, the Cemetery Board, formed since 1866, agreed to open a public tender for the construction of the Christopher Columbus Cemetery, to which seven projects were submitted, and on July 17, 1871, the winner was declared the one indicated with the motto: ” Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede tabernas pauperum regnum que turres” (The pale death enters the cabins as well as the palaces of kings), signed by the architect Calixto Aureliano de Loira y Cardoso, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Noble Arts of San Fernando of Madrid. According to this project, the necropolis would originally be built on a rectangular area of 504,458.22 square meters, divided into a large central cross that would cover the entire rectangle, plus four smaller crosses in the spaces between the arms of the large central cross and the walls. ,[2]
construction works
On October 30, 1871, the construction was inaugurated with the laying of the first stone, and on November 22 the works began.
Following the Calixto de Loira project, the works were divided into four lots:
- Perimeter wall (included the fences, the road in front of the north part of the cemetery and the land clearing)
- Feasibility and trees (included the paving of streets and trees)
- Covers (north and south) and buildings
- Central Chapel
After 15 years of work, the construction works of the Colón Cemetery were completed in November 1886 in its fundamental parts, and in the Gazette from the 6th to the 8th of that month it was notified as open to the public.
Cemetery expansion
When the Colón Cemetery began to be devised, in the mid-19th century, a Regulation was created for its internal organization, which contemplated the so-called Cemetery Zone Law, a sanitary provision that prohibited building within 1000 meters from the walls.
In the 20th century, this Zone Law constituted a legal impediment to the expansion of the city, which had grown considerably, and stopped any attempt to expand the necropolis. For this reason, by Decree of September 16, 1921, what was contemplated in the Sanitary Ordinances was modified, allowing construction within the 1000-meter zone around the cemetery. Thus, in 1922, the expansion of the cemetery on its eastern part was projected, with an area dedicated to temporary burials and deposits of remains. On July 1, 1924, it was opened to public service.
With this extension the general area of the cemetery increased to 560,000m². In the 40s of the 20th century, the wall that divided the zone of epidemics and non-Catholics (to the west) from the rest of the cemetery was demolished, thus completing the current image of the enclosure.
Intervention and nationalization
| intervention | Nationalization |
| National Monument | |
After the triumph of the Revolution in January 1959, the necropolis was intervened, by Resolution 259 of the Revolutionary Government, with the aim of putting an end to discriminatory practices towards people with lower incomes and with the lucrative character that until then the institution had functioned.
This measure was reinforced on July 13, 1967 with the nationalization of the cemetery through Resolution 163 , aimed at eliminating the privatization of social services provided by this entity.
Declaration of National Monument
On February 18, 1987, the necropolis was declared a National Monument by Resolution 51 of the Ministry of Culture, considering the exceptional nature of its values, among which exponents of the historical-social evolution, architecture, sculpture, decorative arts and culture stand out. notable presence of elements of the popular imagination, which contribute to the identity definition of nationality.
Protocol Books and Burial Books
The granting of plots since 1874 were registered -as they have been up to the present- in the Protocol Books, where any act to be carried out with the properties is also registered. They contain documentation such as the request for subdivision to the Archbishopric with the measures to be reserved, the first and successive owners, and the notes of explanatory acts in the event of any eventuality or modification of ownership. There are a total of 52,360 registered properties in the Colon Cemetery. A collection no less important than the aforementioned Protocol Books are the Burial Books that have been in the cemetery archive since 1868, long before the birth of the necropolis itself. They were separated into White Books and Brown and Brown Books, until 1924 when they were unified. They contain the date of burial and all the data of the deceased person. They constitute an important source of reference for any social, political, historical, statistical, ethnographic and genealogical research.
Societies and associations
Since colonization, a very high number of Spaniards have moved to Cuba, an emigration that had several stages and different motivations. They also carried strong traditions and imprint from the economic, social and cultural that has transcended to our days. And one of the ways to perpetuate them was to group themselves by their regions of origin, preserving their traditions, their language and their customs. Many have endured over time, but it is in the Cristóbal Colón necropolis where, in a more visible and majority way, an approach is achieved for their study as a whole. A similar case occurs with the Associations of a civil, social and religious nature that show a multiplicity of exponents within the cemetery enclosure.
General description
Main Street
The cemetery occupies a rectangular surface of 56 hectares. Its extension is 810 meters from East to West, by 620 meters 20 centimeters from North to South. It has around 52,360 properties, of which 8,000 have a high heritage value and are classified as Protection Degrees I and II. Its plan is made up of four large areas, which are called barracks and are designated according to the cardinal points: Northeast Barracks (NE), Northwest Barracks (NO), Southeast Barracks (SE) and Southwest Barracks (SO). Each barracks is divided into areas called squares.
The barracks are delimited by two large central avenues (one that runs from North to South, and the other from East to West), which cross each other perpendicularly in the middle of their route, forming a large central cross.
The same scheme is reproduced inside the barracks: each one is divided by a cross. These five crosses that form the ground floor of the cemetery, correspond to Christian symbology, and represent the five wounds that Christ received when he was crucified. From them, Calixto de Loira established a social hierarchy of spaces, marked by the difference in the value of the land:
- First class monuments area
- Second Monuments Zone
- Third Monuments Zone
- Second order cross
- common field
At the point where the two main avenues intersect, stands the Central Chapel. The main portal of the cemetery is located in the center of its North side, but the necropolis has another portal on its South side, as well as two access doors at the height of the roads to the East and West.
On both sides of the main portal to the north and to the south, we find two bodies of buildings, intended for offices and services.
main cover
Reliefs of the main portal
Outer shield depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
Outer coat of arms depicting the Resurrection of Lazarus
The definitive project for this façade is the work of the architect Eugenio Rayneri, since the qualifying commission for the competition for the construction of the cemetery made some modifications to Calixto de Loira’s project, such as reducing its dimensions. The cover was built between 1871 and 1874; It is made of stone, it is 34.40 meters long and 2.50 meters thick. Its total height, up to the top of the sculptural group that crowns it, is 21.66 meters; the height above the side doors is 11.10 meters. The central gate is 5.00 meters wide and each of the side gates is 2.70 meters wide, all with iron grill closures. It is enriched by a magnificent decorative ensemble, made up of symbols and allegories taken from different cultures.
Also by this artist is the sculptural group that occupies the upper part of the sumptuous portal, and which is made up of three marble statues, which symbolize the Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity, with the following inscription on its base: JANUA SUM PACIS, which in Latin means I am the Door of Peace. These pieces were made in Italy, leaving Genoa for Cuba on July 5, 1899.
Architectonic style
In the words of Calixto de Loira:
“There can be no hesitation about choosing the style to be used in the construction that concerns us, being essentially Christian in nature (…) the most appropriate, both for its severe character, as well as sad, and for the simplicity in the construction. The execution of its decoration, as well as the solidity of its form, is Romanesque-Byzantine, since it fully satisfies the other styles to an advantage, considering the destination of the building and the locations in which it has to be built (…). ” [3]
avenues and streets
The two main avenues of the cemetery are 21 meters wide, with 2-meter-wide sidewalks.
The streets located on the axes of the Second Order crosses are 7 meters wide with 0.50 meter sidewalks, and the streets that divide the Common Field squares are 5 meters wide, with 0.50 meter sidewalks.
The streets that delimit the Common Field and the Second Order crosses, and those that run around the fences, have a width of 6 meters.
Muro perimetral
Footing curve, exterior wall
A three-meter-high masonry perimeter wall defines the contours of the Colon Cemetery. Three pilasters alternate in it, separated by a solid cast-iron latticework with wall canvases with the redemption cross in low relief in its center. In the upper part the fence is crowned by cast iron cups.
center chapel
center chapel
The central chapel, conceived to be the main work of the cemetery, is located at the intersection of the two main avenues. Its plan, the only one of its kind in Cuba for a religious construction, is octagonal (for the Christian religion the number 8 symbolizes the resurrection). It is made up of three concentric bodies, which, being of different heights, are staggered. The exterior of the bodies of the chapel is the lowest and forms a gallery or porch with semicircular arcades, which surrounds the building. Of the other two bodies that constitute the chapel itself, the central one rises on eight pillars and supports a dome in the corner of the cloister reinforced by ribs and ending in a cross.
Tobias Gallery
The Tobías Gallery is the oldest tomb in the cemetery, built due to the scarcity of niches in the Espada Cemetery. Its nomenclature is a tribute to Tobias, who lived in the 7th century BC dedicated to doing charity work, mainly burying corpses.
It is an underground gallery located in the NE barracks, facing A street and limited by 9th and 13th streets. It has two entrances, one at each end, with two small porticoes, from which two San Miguel stone stairs start, with 32 steps, which give access to the interior. It is 3 meters wide by 4 meters high and 95 meters long.
Its construction is made of masonry and bricks and is covered with a common vault provided with ventilation and light by means of six turrets with glass.
The niches (numbering more than five hundred) are arranged in the walls in three superimposed rows, and are 0.67 meters wide by 0.80 meters high by 2 meters deep. They were walled up with bricks or with marble tombstones, on which inscriptions or bas-reliefs were placed. Despite the good conditions of the premises, its atmosphere soon became vitiated, a condition that determined its closure in 1874. On November 24, 1877, a commission of doctors began to study the causes of the problem in the Tobías Gallery, carrying out various chemical- bacteriology of the air. The investigation revealed the inconvenience of this type of burial in the area, and by a Royal Order of November 27, 1878, burial in a niche in the Colón Cemetery was prohibited.
The first Optional Director of the cemetery, Calixto de Loira, was buried in this gallery, resting his remains, for many years, in the first niche of the third row entering through the East door; and in the last niche of that same row, those of Félix de Azúa, who succeeded him in office, were deposited.
Funerary architectural typologies
The funerary architectural typologies are: vaults, ossuaries, pantheons, chapels, mausoleums and memorials; although those monuments whose function is not properly necrological, but symbolic, such as the North Portal of the cemetery, are also considered architectural works.
The vaults and pantheons with ossuaries were the first typologies chosen by wealthy families to materialize their desire to perpetuate themselves eternally in memory.
The oldest private constructions, many of which are still preserved today, are called false vaults. They consist of a brick or masonry wall that, with a height of no more than 30 centimeters, bordered the area where a burial had been made.
Construction materials
The predominant material in the cemetery is white marble, mainly from Carrara [4] . To this are added other varieties of stone, such as marble from Brechia, Tennessee, Georgia, etc., and some variants of Cuban marble. Likewise, granite was used, an extremely hard stone that is resistant to time, which lends itself to the required sobriety and offers a range of colors, from black and gray to brown, red and pink. Due to its origin, it is possible to identify different types of granite (Norwegian, Swedish, etc.).
Less expensive materials such as artificial granite, limestone, slate and ceramic are also present; while bronze, iron, wood or glass serve as accessory elements [5] .
Artistic manifestation
Like any funerary city, the “Cristóbal Colón” cemetery has those manifestations that characterize the art of urban planning: architecture, sculpture, decorative arts, gardening and road layout. All these manifestations form an eclectic ensemble due to its great variety of styles and shapes in the built ensemble.
Within a very wide repertoire are the works carried out in the so-called Casas Marmoleras, workshops dedicated both to the importation of marble for construction, and to the elaboration of works of art with this material. After the Espada cemetery was built, the Casas Marmoleras began in the field of funerary art. The tombstones in this enclosure, created to close the niches, are the first funerary works produced in Havana. They were serial pieces and therefore anonymous, in which only the names of the head of the workshop and the address where he was located appear. When the Colón Cemetery was opened, these workshops extended their activities to other manifestations, such as decorative arts and sculpture.
Likewise, individual creations stand out in the cemetery, such as the sculptures of the Cuban José Vilalta Saavedra, the greatest exponent of the academic variant of that manifestation in the final years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
When the avant-garde broke into the panorama of Cuban plastic arts, many creators such as Florencio Gelabert, Juan José Sicre, Rita Longa, Teodoro Ramos Blanco, Fernando Boada, etc., left their mark on the necropolis.
Sociocultural management and promotion
Beyond the imposing symbol of stillness and eternal peace of the place, the marbles exhibit and guard the most invaluable heritage of any nation: man. Starting in 1990, as part of the cultural enhancement work of the necropolis, the NCC History and Conservation Group was created. Directed by a Specialist in Cultural Studies and made up of museologists, historians, architects, restorers and conservators, its fundamental mission to date is to study, promote and expand the evaluative and functional profile of the necropolis, making its functionality visible as a sociocultural exponent. Its contribution as an educational space combines the aesthetic appeal and diversity of its heritage with knowledge of history, art, culture and the development of society.
Services
- Specialized services of the obituary activity (burial – exhumation – transfers).
- Incineration of skeletal remains.
- Religious services (responses and masses), sale of specialized magazines, articles of a religious nature.
- Advice for procedures related to cemetery property.
- Technical Consulting Architecture and Restoration – Conservation.
- Archive: open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Other services
- Specialized, directed visits, historical archive services – digital documentary (prior agreement).
- Copy on USB media of digital information aimed at students and researchers on the theme of cemeteries.
- Conferences and talks in educational and labor institutions (prior agreement).
Curiosities of the Necropolis
Epitaph
One of the most beautiful Epitaphs of the Necropolis is written on the tomb of two good beings who professed a love that transcended beyond death. He says like this:
“Kind traveler, abstract your mind from the ungrateful world for a few moments, and dedicate a thought of love and peace to these two beings whose earthly happiness was cut short by destiny and whose mortal remains rest forever in this grave, fulfilling a sacred oath we give you thanks from the eternal: “Margarita and Modesto”.
The oldest gravediggers say that Margarita was the first to die. Modest, for years he went day after day, dressed in an elegant black suit, to dedicate to his beloved a violin concert that lasted hours and hours, it seemed that the music of the instrument, if not from the very heart of the old man…
