Saint Isidore Cemetery is a

monumental cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the Spanish capital

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. Its first courtyard was erected in 1811 and new expansions were added throughout the 19th Century. Its central courtyard, called “Patio de la Concepción” (Conception courtyard) boasts a notable group of

mausolea 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 ...

. This cemetery is the resting place of many famous Spaniards, such as artists, politicians or poets.

History

The

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

is located on the upper right side of the

Manzanares river The Manzanares () is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, which flows from the Sierra de Guadarrama, passes through Madrid, and eventually empties into the Jarama river, which in turn is a right-bank tributary to the Tagus. In its ...

, between the

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

and Toledo bridges. Its full name, “Pontifical and Royal Sacramental Arch-confraternity of St Peter, St Andrew, St Isidore and of the Immaculate Conception” reveals its origins: the arch-confraternity resulted from the 1587 merger of the confraternities of the parishes of St Peter the Royal, St Andrew the apostle, the Immaculate Conception and St Isidore the Labourer. All these fraternities included among their duties the dignified burial of deceased members, for which purpose a request was made to open a cemetery in what was then the outskirts of Madrid, near the hermitage of St Isidore. The first burial was performed in 1811. Throughout the 19th century, St Isidore became the cemetery of Madrid’s nobility. It became the final resting place of choice for aristocrats, bourgeoisie, politicians and artists. For this reason its seven courtyards boast a multitude of

of great architectural and artistic quality. The architects and artists used all means at their disposal, embellishing their work with sculptural elements and employing highly skilled stonemasons, smiths, enamelers and stained glass craftsmen. Among the architects we find many of the great names of the period, such as

Ricardo Velázquez Bosco Ricardo Velázquez Bosco (1843–1923) was a Spanish architect, archaeologist and scholar. Velázquez's most notable architecture was erected in Madrid, buildings such as the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez (both in the Parqu ...

, the Marquis of Cubas, Ortiz de Villajos, Arturo Mélida, Agustín Querol, Segundo de Lema, etc. It was not unusual for architects to find themselves erecting grandiose mausolea in neobyzantine,

neo-mudéjar Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America. This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style. It was an architectural trend of the late ...

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style for the same clients who had commissioned much less adventurously styled houses in the ever-expanding city. St Isidore remains an active cemetery and is considered one of Europe’s most interesting graveyards. An attempt was made to have the cemetery recognized by the Spanish heritage register for listed status as

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

(of cultural heritage interest), though to date the relevant application remains under consideration.

Characteristics

It is located in the Carabanchel district of Madrid, behind the hermitage of St Isidore on the so-called “hill of souls” (cerro de ánimas) near Via Carpetana street and bordered on one side by Ermita del Santo avenue. The three oldest of the seven courtyards that comprise the cemetery are of rectangular shape and cloistered structure and contain the niches, giving them the most sober appearance. The oldest courtyard is that of St Peter, built in 1811 by the architect José Llorente. Here can also be found the tombs of Antonio Fraseri (

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

’s physician), Bernardo Conde (director of the Buen Retiro Porcelain Factory), the count of Campomanes and the Madrazo family. The courtyard of St Andrew would follow later, in 1829, also designed by Llorente, followed by the courtyard of St Isidro by José Alejandro Álvarez in 1842. A new expansion was necessary mid-century and the courtyard of the Conception, designed by Francisco Enríquez y Ferrer in neoroman colonnades and turrets was built, containing a formidable group of mausolea in all different styles of the 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, these structures continued to be built, though their boom period was during the Spanish restoration.

Notable burials

Leandro Fernández de Moratín Leandro Fernández de Moratín (; 10 March 1760 – 21 June 1828) was a Spanish dramatist, translator and neoclassical poet. Biography Moratín was born in Madrid the son of Nicolás Fernández de Moratín, a major literary reformer in Sp ...

(1760-1828), Spanish playwright and poet. * Marquess of San Isidro (1806-1885), Spanish noble, politician and army officer. * Conde de Campomanes (1723-1802), Spanish politician. * Ángel de Saavedra y Ramírez de Baquedano, Duque de Rivas, (1791-1865) Spanish poet, dramatist and politician. * Diego de León (1807-1841), Count Belascoaín. * Manuel Montes de Oca (1804-1841), Spanish naval commander and politician. * Francisco Javier de Istúriz (1790-1871), Spanish President. * Ramón de Mesonero Romanos (1803-1882), Spanish author. * Frances Mary ("Fanny") Keats (1803 - 1889), the younger sister of John Keats. * José de Salamanca y Mayol (1811-1883), Spanish politician and financier, Marquis of Salamanca. *

Emilio Castelar Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 183225 May 1899) was a Spanish republican politician, and a president of the First Spanish Republic. Castelar was born in Cádiz. He was an eloquent orator and a writer. Appointed as Head of State in 1873 i ...

(1832-1899), Spanish politician, historian, journalist and writer. President of the Executive during the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...

. *

Francisco Silvela Francisco Silvela y Le Vielleuze (15 December 1843, in Madrid – 29 May 1905, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who became Prime Minister of Spain on 3 May 1899, succeeding Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. He served in this capacity until 22 October ...

(1843-1905), Spanish politician. * Segismundo Moret (1833-1913), Spanish politician and writer. *

Fernando Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja Fernando Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja (30 July 1879 – 5 August 1921) was a Spanish soldier, brother of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja and uncle of Falange’s founder José Antonio Primo de Rivera. Early ...

(1879-1921), Spanish politician and soldier. * Consuelo Vello Cano «La Fornarina» (1885-1915), Spanish cupletista. *

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Li ...

(1832-1916), Spanish politician, playwright and mathematician. *

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, and studied law in Madrid. In 1878, Maura married Constanc ...

(1853-1925), Spanish politician and president of the council of ministers. *

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

(1870-1930), Spanish aristocrat and military officer, Prime Minister of Spain 1923-1930. His remains were later moved to the Basílica de la Merced in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...

. * Felipe de Lazcano y Morales de Setién (1868-1951), lawyer, businessman, politician and financier. *

Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...

(1889-1959), Croatian dictator and leader of the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

. *

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

(1901-1973), Cuban soldier, politician and dictator. *

Miguel Boyer Miguel Boyer (5 February 1939 – 29 September 2014) was a Spanish economist and politician, who served as minister of economy, treasury and commerce from 1982 to 1985. Early life and education Boyer was born in St. Jean de Luz, France, on 5 F ...

(1939-2014), Spanish economist, academic and former minister. * Kardam, Prince of Turnovo (1962-2015). * Concha Piquer (1908-1990), singer. *

Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre ( Spanish: ''María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón''; 30 July 1936 – 8 January 2020), sometimes known more simply as ...

(1936-2020).

References

{{Authority control 1811 establishments in Spain Cemeteries in Madrid Parks in Madrid Buildings and structures of the Catholic Church in Spain

History

Characteristics

Notable burials

See also

References