Prazeres Cemetery () is one of the largest cemeteries in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

; it is located in the ''

freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...

'' (civil parish) of Estrela, in western Lisbon (formerly, within the parish of Prazeres). It is considered to be one of the most beautiful and famous cemeteries in the world. It is home to the Mausoleum of the Dukes of Palmela, the largest mausoleum in Europe. Prazeres Cemetery is the resting place for many famous personalities, including

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

and Presidents of Portugal, notable literary figures such as author Fernando Namora, famous artists like painters

Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (Almada, 21 November 1857 – Lisbon, 6 November 1929), who is usually referred to as Columbano, was a Portuguese Realist painter. Usually considered the greatest Portuguese painter of the 19th century, he has been ...

Roque Gameiro Roque ( ) is an American variant of croquet played on a hard, smooth surface. Popular in the first quarter of the 20th century and billed "the Game of the Century" by its enthusiasts, it was an Roque at the 1904 Summer Olympics, Olympic sport in ...

, prominent musical figures like pianist

Alexandre Rey Colaço Alexandre Jorge Maria Idalécio Raimundo Rey Colaço (Tangier, Morocco, 30 April 1854 - Lisbon, Portugal, 11 September 1928) was a Portuguese Piano, pianist of a French people, French father and Spanish people, Spanish-Portuguese people, Portugue ...

or composer João Domingos Bomtempo, and numerous other notable burials, especially from the

Portuguese nobility Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

History

Prazeres Cemetery was founded in 1833 after the outbreak of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in the city, along with

Alto de São João Cemetery Alto de São João Cemetery ( Portuguese: ''Cemitério do Alto de São João'') is the largest cemetery in Lisbon, Portugal, located in the ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Penha de França, in eastern Lisbon (formerly, within the parish of São J ...

. It was originally named ''Cemitério Ocidental de Lisboa'' (Western Cemetery of Lisbon). The cemetery is exclusively made up of

mausoleums A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the Chamber tomb, burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's Cadaver, remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be ...

. Since 2001, a portion of the cemetery's auxiliary buildings have been converted into a museum.

Amália Rodrigues Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), known as simply Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese fado singer (''fadista''). Dubbed ''Rainha do Fado'' ("Queen of Fado"), she was instrumen ...

, famous as the "Queen of

Fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

", and

Aquilino Ribeiro Aquilino Gomes Ribeiro, ComL (; 13 September 1885 – 27 May 1963, Lisbon), was a Portuguese writer and diplomat. He is generally considered to be one of the great Portuguese novelists of the 20th century. In 1960, he was nominated for the No ...

, famed novelist, were both buried at Prazeres Cemetery prior to their reinterment at the National Pantheon. Famed poet

Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa (; ; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, and publisher. He has been described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th c ...

was also buried at Prazeres prior to his reinterment at

Jerónimos Monastery The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery (, ) is a former monastery of the Hieronymites, Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the nec ...

Gallery

File:Lisbon, Cemitério dos Prazeres, vault of the Carvalho Monteiro family.JPG, Carvalho Monteiro mausoleum File:Burial ground for firefighters with River Tagus in the background, Prazeres cemetery, Lisbon, Portugal (PPL1-Corrected) julesvernex2.jpg, Firefighters burial ground File:Jazigo da Família Pinto Leite 2017-02-13.png, Pinto Leite chapel File:Lisboa (8622012205).jpg, Row of mausoleums File:Jazigo do Marquês de Vale Flor 2017-02-13.png, Marquis of Vale Flor mausoleum File:Cemitério dos Prazeres • Cemetery Prazeres (50661973193).jpg, View of the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

File:Cemitério dos Prazeres.png, Mausoleum of the Dukes of Palmela File:Jazigo de António Pinto Bastos e sua família 2017-02-08.png, Viscount of Mira Vouga mausoleum File:Lisboa (8622031771).jpg, Mausoleums in Section III File:Cemitério dos Prazeres • Cemetery Prazeres (50661972308).jpg, Mausoleums with the

25 de Abril Bridge The 25 de Abril Bridge (, 25th of April Bridge, ) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus, Tagus River. It has a main span length of , ma ...

in the background File:Cemitério dos Prazeres • Cemetery Prazeres (50661972898).jpg, Lopes Vasques Mausoleum File:Cemitério dos Prazeres • Cemetery Prazeres (50662708721).jpg, Saramago Family mausoleum File:Cemitério dos Prazeres (34595328130) (cropped).jpg, Cemetery church plaza

Notable burials

* 1st Count of Bonfim, famed statesman * 1st Count of Farrobo, noted

patron of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

* 1st Count of São Januário, founder of the

Lisbon Geographic Society The Lisbon Geographic Society ( Portuguese: ''Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa'') is a Portuguese scientific society created in Lisbon in the year of 1875, aiming to "promote and assist the study and progress of geography and related sciences in ...

* 1st Duke of Loulé, 21st & 24th

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal (; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Ass ...

* 1st Duke of Palmela, 1st

* 1st Viscount of Castilho, noted writer * "Alcipe", 4th Marquise of Alorna, noted poet *

Alexandre de Serpa Pinto Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, Viscount of Serpa Pinto (aka Serpa Pinto; 20 April 184628 December 1900) was a Portuguese explorer of southern Africa and a colonial administrator. Early life Serpa Pinto was born at the Quinta das Po ...

, notable explorer *

, famed pianist *

Alfredo Keil Alfredo Cristiano Keil (3 July 1850 – 4 October 1907) was a Portuguese composer, painter, poet, archaeologist and art collector. Keil is best known as the composer of the Portuguese national anthem, ''A Portuguesa''. Life Keil was born in ...

, composer of the

Portuguese national anthem "" (; ) is the national anthem of Portugal. It was composed by Alfredo Keil and written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça during the resurgent nationalist movement ignited by the 1890 British Ultimatum to Portugal concerning its African colonies. ...

Alfredo Marceneiro Alfredo Rodrigo Duarte (25 February 1891 – 26 June 1982), better known as Alfredo Marceneiro, was a Portuguese fado singer. His stage name is derived from his original profession as a woodworker (''marceneiro,'' in Portuguese). Marceneiro is ...

, notable

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

singer *

Alfredo Roque Gameiro Alfredo Roque Gameiro (4 April 1864, Minde (Alcanena), Minde - 15 August 1935, Lisbon) was a Portuguese painter and graphic artist. Biography Alfredo Roque Gameiro was born in Minde, Portugal. When he was ten years old, he went to live in Lis ...

, famed artist *

Amélia Rey Colaço Amélia Lafourcade Schmidt Rey Colaço de Robles Monteiro (2 March 1898–8 July 1990) was one of the leading Portuguese actors of the first half of the 20th century. She was also an important impresario. Early years Amélia Rey Colaço was born ...

, famed actress * Almada Negreiros, famous artist *

Anselmo José Braamcamp Anselmo José Braamcamp de Almeida Castelo Branco (23 October 1817 – 13 November 1885) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese politician of the History of Portugal (1834–1910), Constitutional Monarchy era. He was the leader of the Historic Party ( ...

, 36th

* António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, 20th-c. Brazilian millionaire * António Silva, famed actor *

Antonio Tabucchi Antonio Tabucchi (; 24 September 1943 – 25 March 2012) was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator o ...

, famed Italian author *

Carlos do Carmo Carlos Manuel de Ascenção do Carmo de Almeida (21 December 1939 – 1 January 2021), better known as Carlos do Carmo, was a Portuguese fado singer. The son of Lucília do Carmo, a well-known ''fadista'', do Carmo began his career in fado fol ...

, notable

singer *

Carlos Paredes Carlos Paredes (; 16 February 1925 – 23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time. Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a long t ...

Portuguese guitar The Portuguese guitar (, ) is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses of two strings. It is one of the few musical instruments that still uses watch-key or Preston tuners. It is iconically associated with t ...

player * Carolina Beatriz Ângelo, famed physician and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

* Cesário Verde, famed poet *

, famous painter *

Cosme Damião Cosme Damião (2 November 1885 – 12 June 1947) was a Portuguese football player-coach for S.L. Benfica. A former midfielder, he is remembered as the main force behind the birth of Benfica and one of the first great Portuguese football players ...

, founder of

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

* Cottinelli Telmo, famed architect * Curry Cabral, famed physician * Elise, Countess of Edla, second wife of

Ferdinand II of Portugal ''Dom (title), Dom'' Ferdinand II (; 29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885), also known as Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and as "the King-artist" (), was King of Portugal from 16 September 1837 to 15 November 1853 as the husband and co-ruler ...

* Fernando Namora, famed writer *

Fontes Pereira de Melo António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo Order of the Tower and Sword, GCTE Order of the Golden Fleece, KGF (; Lisbon, 8 September 1819 – 22 January 1887) was a Portuguese politician, statesman and engineer. He was a leading Member of parliame ...

, 33rd & 35th

Francisco Craveiro Lopes Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes (; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958. Early life and career Born in Lisbon, he was a son of , ...

, 12th

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

* Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro, noted monarchist *

Hermenegildo Capelo Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo (1841–1917) was a Portuguese officer in the Portuguese Navy and an explorer, who helped to chart territory between Angola and Mozambique that was unknown to Europeans in the 1870s and 1880s. Alongside Roberto Ive ...

, famed general *

João do Canto e Castro João do Canto e Castro da Silva Antunes (19 May 1862, in Lisbon – 14 March 1934, in Lisbon), commonly known simply as João do Canto e Castro was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Navy officer and the List of Presidents of Portugal, fifth presid ...

, 5th

* João Domingos Bomtempo, famous classical piano composer * Joaquim Mouzinho de Albuquerque, famous general *

José Malhoa José Vital Branco Malhoa, known simply as José Malhoa (28 April 1855 – 26 October 1933) was a Portuguese painter. Biography Malhoa was, with Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, the leading name in Portuguese naturalist painting in the second half ...

, famous painter *

José Mendes Cabeçadas José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior, Order of the Tower and Sword, OTE, Order of Aviz, ComA, Medalha de Comportamento Exemplar, MPCE (), commonly known as Mendes Cabeçadas (19 August 1883 in Loulé – 11 June 1965 in Lisbon), was a Portuguese p ...

, 9th

José Norton de Matos José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos, GCTE, GCL (23 March 1867 – 3 January 1955) was a Portuguese general and politician. 1880s After attending college in Braga, and attending the Escola Académica in Lisbon in 1880, Norton de Matos ...

, famous general *

José Vianna da Motta José Vianna da Motta (modern spelling as 'Viana da Mota') (22 April 18681 June 1948) was a Portuguese pianist, teacher, and composer. He was one of the last pupils of Franz Liszt. The José Vianna da Motta Music Competition was founded in 1957 ...

, famed pianist and composer * Manuel Carvalheiro, filmmaker and film theorist *

Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho (1 February 1847 – 24 March 1921) was a Portuguese writer and poet. She was the first woman to join the Portuguese Academy of Sciences (''Academia das Ciências de Lisboa''). Life The daughter of José Vaz de Ca ...

, famed poet *

Maria Barroso Maria de Jesus Simões Barroso Soares, GCL ( Fuseta, 2 May 1925 – Lisbon, 7 July 2015) was a Portuguese actress, teacher and political and social activist, having been one of the founders of the Socialist Party (PS), in Germany, in 1973. A ...

, 25th First Lady of Portugal *

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...

, 108th

* Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos, famed poet *

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portugal, Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the List of Presidents of P ...

, 25th

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (21 March 1846 – 23 January 1905; spelled Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro in older Portuguese orthography) was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture, and ceramics designs. Bordalo Pi ...

, famed artist

References

;Bibliography
Cultural Patrimony of Prazeres Cemetery
at the

Direção-Geral do Património Cultural The Direção-Geral do Património Cultural (DGPC) (''Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage''), formerly the ''Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico (IGESPAR)'' (''Institute for the Management of Architectural and ...

External links

Cemitério dos Prazeres
on

Lisbon City Hall The Lisbon City Hall (, ) is the seat of the Lisbon municipal government. The building is located in the City Square (''Praça do Município''), Santa Maria Maior (Lisbon), Santa Maria Maior, Lisbon. It houses the Lisbon City Council. Built in th ...

's website
Cemitério dos Prazeres
on the Lisbon Tourism Board' website * {{Authority control Cemeteries in Portugal Roman Catholic cemeteries in Portugal Buildings and structures in Lisbon Tourist attractions in Lisbon