The Cementerio N° 1 de Valparaíso is a cemetery located in the

Panteón Hill Panteón (Pantheon) Hill in one of the 42 hills of the city of Valparaíso, Chile. It is surrounded by Ecuador and Cumming Streets and it has its base on Condell Street. It is next to Cárcel (Jail) Hill and Panteón Hill is part of the central ...

, immediately north of the Cementerio de Disidentes, in Valparaíso, Chile. Created in 1825, it was declared as a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

of Chile in 2005, within the category of Historic Monuments.

History

Before the creation of the cemetery, the people were buried, according to the colonial-era traditions, in mass graves located next to churches and convents. The poorest people were buried on unpopulated ravines. The founding of public cemeteries in Chile began under the government of Bernardo O'Higgins, who created the Cementerio General de Santiago. On December 3, 1821, a project was presented to create a cemetery in Valparaíso on a small hill in the outskirts of the city, which was later named

Cerro Panteón Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municip ...

. The project was supported by governor José Ignacio Zenteno. Historical documents show that the cemetery was operating in 1825, and that it was exclusively a Catholic cemetery until 1883. In April, 1885 a storm caused a landslide that dragged several coffins into the houses located on the slopes of the hill, killing some residents. The

1906 Valparaíso earthquake The 1906 Valparaíso earthquake hit Valparaíso, Chile, on August 16 at 19:55 local time. Its epicenter was offshore from the Valparaíso Region, and its intensity was estimated at magnitude 8.2 . This earthquake occurred thirty minutes after the ...

destroyed the chapel of the cemetery, which was built in 1835, the entrance's clock tower and the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

that contained the heart of Diego Portales. In 1922 a portico entrance was built by Swiss architect Augusto Geiger, and was installed a replica of the '' Pietà'' donated by Juan Brown, which was brought from Rome.

Description

Located on a terrace of the

cerro Panteón Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municip ...

, the cemetery features a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

entrance, which is located directly across the street from the entrance to the Cementerio de Disidentes. This Greek temple-like gate was built in the Neo-classical style with fluted Doric columns. The portico contains a replica of the '' Pietà'' by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

. A balconied

viewpoint Viewpoint may refer to: * Scenic viewpoint, a high place where people can gather to view scenery In computing * Viewpoint model, a computer science technique for making complex systems more comprehensible to human engineers * Viewpoint Corporat ...

, which is adjacent to the mausoleum of

Pascual Baburizza Pascual Baburizza (also known as ''Pasquale baburizza'' or ''Pasko Baburica Šoletić'') (Calamotta, Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Koločep, Croatia, 1875– Los Andes, Chile, 1941) was a Dalmatian Italian businessman prominent in Chile during the ...

, is reached after traversing a network of pathways surrounded by mausoleums, graves and epitaphs. The tombs are built in various architectural styles including Neo-gothic and Neo-classical. Numerous

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

artworks can be found here.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cementerio No 1 de Valparaíso Buildings and structures in Valparaíso Cemeteries in Chile