Colon Cemetery

The Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón was laid out from 1876 on a grid like a city, with avenues, blocks and a central chapel, and it holds several hundred thousand graves across around fifty hectares. The monuments run from restrained neoclassical tombs to full sculptural set pieces, including the memorial to the firefighters killed in 1890 and the chess player's tomb marked with a carved king. The grave of Amelia Goyri, known as La Milagrosa, is visited continuously by people who approach it and leave without turning their back.

History

Before cemeteries were built, Havana buried its dead in the crypts of its churches. The Colón cemetery replaced the older Espada cemetery in the San Lázaro district: its first stone was laid on 30 October 1871, it was founded in 1876 in Vedado, and by the time its extension was completed in 1934 it covered 504,458 square metres. It was laid out as a rectangle on the plan of a Roman camp, with pavements, streets and numbered avenues, and it is known for its elaborately sculpted memorials, with more than 500 major mausoleums. The square on the central avenue between the chapel and the great gateway was named after Christopher Columbus because a monument to him was planned there, but it was never built, so the cemetery that bears his name has no statue of him (Wikipedia, Colon Cemetery, Havana).

What you'll find

• The main avenue - a formal axis of marble tombs running to the central chapel.
• La Milagrosa - the most visited grave in the country, approached and left without turning away.
• The firefighters' monument - a large sculptural memorial to those killed in the 1890 fire.
• The sculpture - carved tombs across the whole cemetery, including the chess player's king.

When to go

November to April is the drier season, which matters on a site with almost no shade. Mornings are cooler. The cemetery is open daily and is quiet apart from around La Milagrosa.

Before you go

It is very large and very hot, with little shade on the avenues, so a full circuit is more walking than most people expect. Guides at the gate solicit business firmly. Photography of funerals in progress is obviously not appropriate.

Nearby

Vedado's hotels and the Malecon are north, and Plaza de la Revolucion is east.

Key facts