Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo also known as Cementerio de San Carlos or San Carlos Cemetery is located in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It was inaugurated on September 2, 1872 on 13.5 hectares. It is the third most important Cemetery of Cuba in terms of patrimonial value, as much for its architecture, as for the personalities interred. His main

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

was Francisco Sosa Vélez, who used

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

for the construction. The San Carlos Cemetery came to solve the problem Matanzas had with the big number of cemeteries in the area, a figure higher than that of any other Cuban location. The octagonal Chapel contains the remains of the martyrs of different

wars of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

. Its

catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

, currently the only ones active on the island, contain 756 niches in two underground pantheons and an exclusive system of

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a ma ...

against

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, similar to the Tobias Gallery, in the

Colon Cemetery, Havana El Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, also called La Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón, was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba to replace the Espada Cemetery in the Barrio de San Lázaro. Named for Christopher Columbus, t ...

, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Notable interments

* Jose Jacinto Milanés (1814–1863), writer *

Joseph Marion Hernández José Mariano Hernández or Joseph Marion Hernández (May 26, 1788 – June 8, 1857) was an American politician, plantation owner, and soldier. He was the first from the Florida Territory and the first Hispanic American to serve in the United S ...

(1793–1857), United States Congressman (interred in the

del Junco del Junco is a Spanish language, Spanish surname meaning “from the reeds”. The most notable family with this name is the Rodrigo del Junco family which originally came from Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. In the second half of the 16th century, the fa ...

family crypt *

Miguel Faílde Miguel Faílde Pérez (23 December 1852, in Guacamaro, Matanzas – 26 December 1921) was a Cuban musician and bandleader. He was the official originator of the danzón, composer of the first danzón, Las alturas de Simpson, and the founder of the ...

(1852–1921), musician *

Fernando Heydrich Fernando Heydrich Klein (26 January 1827 – April 1, 1903) was a German businessman, politician, engineer and sculptor who lived in Matanzas, Cuba. Builder of the Acueduct of Matanzas he was politically engaged, playing a significant role during t ...

(1827–1903), engineer and sculptor, Builder of the Acueduct of Matanzas * Bonifacio Byrne (1861–1936), poet *

Severiano Sainz y Bencamo (7 November 1871 in Pinar del Río, Cuba - 14 March 1937 in Matanzas, Cuba) was the second bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Matanzas (1915–1937). His parents were Juan Sainz y María Antonia Bencomo. When he was very young he was taken t ...

(1871–1937), Catholic bishop * Alfredo Nicasio Heydrich Martinez (1862–1933), one of the first producers of

Sisal Sisal (, ) (''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal ma ...

on the island

References

External links

* {{Find a Grave cemetery Cemeteries in Cuba Buildings and structures in Matanzas 1872 establishments in Cuba 19th-century architecture in Cuba