campo de ourique & estrela in loco
cemitério dos prazeres Calling a cemetery “Prazeres”, or “Delights”, can, to a certain extent, appear ironic… but there is an explanation for everything. The cemetery was built on the farm from which it takes its name. Erected between 1833 and 1835, following a violent cholera outbreak, it was intended to put an end finally to burials inside churches, chapels and monastery cloisters. Various laws had already been passed on the matter (since 1805), but to no avail.
H
istory has it that there once existed a
less roads flanked by enormous cypresses, where si-
fountain on the spot that was thought to
lence and calm prevails, is an interesting experience.
be holy and a site of miracles, because
The quiet invites contemplation, while the structures
an image of the Virgin Mary had appeared next to it.
are a reference to the past, to the people who built
And so a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Prazeres was
them, to those gone forever and to those who lament
built there. The chapel gave its name to a large farm
their passing. “Faith unites those that death has sepa-
which in the 16th century served as sanctuary to the
rated”, reads one of the gravestones.
many victims of the various epidemics then sweeping
But it is a fact that walking through the cemetery is like
through Lisbon. Coincidence?
visiting an “open-air museum” that recounts much of
It was a place of vegetable patches, grapevines and or-
Portugal’s history of the last two centuries. Exploiting
chards known by the name of Campolide, in the parish
this vast architectural and sculptural resource, Lisbon
of Santos. In the 18th century (1741), it became part
Council organises guided tours for the general public or
of the new parish of Santa Isabel, and since 1959 has
institutions on different themes, such as the cemetery’s
been part of Santo Condestável.
history, masonry, cemetery architecture, heraldry,
In earlier times (16th, 17th and 18th centuries), the
death and immortality, statuary, trade symbols, impor-
area was a popular site for the farms and country
tant men and the tomb built by the 1st Duke of Palmela.
houses of the nobility. The air was fresh and it was
There is also a small but interesting museum inside the
close to Alcântara River with fine views of the Tagus,
cemetery chapel that exhibits objects from tombs re-
still evident today from the western wall of the cem-
moved from the city’s various cemeteries and where the
etery. That plus it was close to the royal palace in Al-
old autopsy room and collection room can be seen. •
cântara, so beloved of the king. Nearby (in what is now Rua do Patrocínio) stood the monastery of Boa Morte. The monastery disappeared with the abolition of the religious orders in 1834 and the building was sold. The location of the cemetery, which served the richest quarters of the city, meant that from early on it became home to the tombs of the most important families in the capital. Hence the rich decoration that is evident on many of them. It is surprising to see the different attitudes to death that cemetery architecture reveals. From the simplest graves and modest tombs to the most ornate chapels and sculptures displaying wealth, power and (very often) poor taste as well, the cemetery contains a mixture of everything. In death as in life, man’s need to stand out from his fellow man remains. A visit to this 11-hectare site, crisscrossed by count-
••• conta muito da História de Portugal dos dois últimos séculos. Aproveitando este enorme manancial arquitectónico e escultórico, a Câmara Municipal de Lisboa organiza visitas guiadas destinadas ao público em geral ou instituições, explorando diferentes temas como, por exemplo, a história do Cemitério, maçonaria, arquitectura funerária, heráldica, morte e imortalidade, estatuária, símbolos profissionais, grandes Homens e jazigo Palmela. Além disso, existe um pequeno mas interessante Museu, situado na própria Capela do Cemitério, que expõe objectos recolhidos em jazigos prescritos dos vários cemitérios da cidade e onde também pode ser vista a antiga sala de autópsias e a sala do acervo. • Campo de ourique & estrela con vida · 15