| Cemetery of Nossa Senhora da Soledade | |
|---|---|
Cemitério de Nossa Senhora da Soledade | |
 | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1850 |
| Location | |
| Country | Brazil |
| Coordinates | 1°27′26″S 48°29′23″W / 1.457290°S 48.489630°W |
| Footnotes | |
| Designated | 1964 |
| Reference no. | 376 |
| [1] | |
The Cemetery of Nossa Senhora da Soledade (Portuguese: Cemitério de Nossa Senhora da Soledade) is a historic cemetery in the neighborhood of Batista Campos in Belém, Pará, Brazil. It was built in 1850 by Captain Joaquim Vitorino de Sousa Cabral as a result of a yellow fever epidemic in the 19th century. More than 30,000 people are interred at the cemetery, victims of the yellow fever (1850) and cholera (1885) epidemics.[2][1]
In the mid-19th century the elite of Belém were clandestinely buried in the churches, a practice that dated to the colonial period. Enslaved and poor people were buried in the Paz Cemetery in Largo da Campina. The yellow fever epidemic required the construction of another cemetery in Belém. The new cemetery was inaugurated in January 1850 in the neighborhood of Batista Campos. It covered 76,340 square metres (821,700 sq ft). Joaquim Vitorino de Sousa Cabral built a chapel in the neoclassical style.[3]
The cemetery immediately encountered problems: it was located too close to the heart of the city, it was too small, and suffered from hygiene problems. Administration of the cemetery was transferred to Santa Casa de Misericórdia in December 1850. It completed work in 1854. The cemetery was again modified in 1863. The grove of casuarina trees was removed, wooden railings were replaced by concave brick parapets, and the chapel was whitewashed.
Burials in the cemetery ended in 1880.
The cemetery began a process of rapid degradation after the end of burials at the site. The land around the cemetery saw intense urbanization and land speculation, and parts of the cemetery were demolished to allow road widening, and housing complexes were built on all sides of the site. Intellectuals in Belém advocated for listing of the site by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) in the 1960s, avoiding its destruction.[1][3]
The cemetery remains a site of popular religious practice. Residents offer flowers, candy, ribbons to sculptures, which are seen as representation of Catholic saints.[4]
Burials edit
- General Hilário Maximiliano Antunes Gurjão. His tomb was built in Brescia, Italy, and features sculptures by Antonio Allegretti (1840–1918), a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts in Rome
Chapel edit
The Chapel of the Cemetery of Nossa Senhora da Soledade was built in the neoclassical style by Joaquim Vitorino de Sousa Cabral. It features fine iron railings from England.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Belém – Cemitério de Nossa Senhora da Soledade" (in Portuguese). iPatrimonio. 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Jussara da Silveira Derenji; Jorge Derenji (2009). Igrejas, palácios e palacetes de Belém (in Portuguese and English). Brasília: National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. p. 207-210. ISBN 978-85-7334-120-1. OCLC 780689130. OL 25367961M. Wikidata Q113581046.
- ^ a b c "Monumentos e Espaços Públicos Tombados - Belém (PA)" (in Portuguese). IPHAN. 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
- ^ Luiz Rabelo (2015). "Soledade: the first cemetery of the Amazon". In_Bo. 6 (8): 208–215. doi:10.6092/ISSN.2036-1602/6089. ISSN 2036-1602. Wikidata Q116599421.
Category:Buildings and structures in Belém]] Category:Cemeteries in Brazil]] Category:National heritage sites of Pará]] Category:Built in Brazil in 1850]]