Poblenou Cemetery

Cemetery in Barcelona, Spain

Poblenou Cemetery (Cementerio de Pueblo Nuevo in Spanish, Cementiri de Poblenou in Catalan) is located in the neighbourhood of the same name in Barcelona. It is also called East Cemetery (Cementiri de l'Est) or General Cemetery (Cementiri General). It is located in calle de Taulat, with the main entrance at Avenida Icària.

The first cemetery at this location was built in 1775, located outside the city's perimeter wall, as the state of churchyard graves inside the old city was considered unsanitary. After the first cemetery was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1813, the Italian architect Antonio Ginesi [es] was commissioned to rebuild it, and the new site was reconsecrated by Bishop Pau de Sitjar i Ruata on 15 April 1819. It was formally opened in 1898 by the Bishop of Barcelona Josep Climent i Avinent.^[1]

The cemetery consists of two large sections: at the front Ginesi created egalitarian terraces of burial niches, while at the rear there is an area of individual monuments and mausolea, crafted for the aesthetic tastes and aspirations of the wealthy bourgeoisie, merchants and manufacturers of the city. A third, narrow section along the South wall mixes niches, monuments and common graves.^[2]

The sculpture above the grave of Josep Llaudet Soler is often cited as Poblenou's best-known monument. Known as The Kiss of Death (El petó de la mort in Catalan or El beso de la muerte in Spanish), the work dates to 1930 and depicts a winged skeleton kissing the cheek of a young man's apparently lifeless body. The name of the artist Jaume Barba is carved into the base, though some believe the work is the idea of Joan Fontbernat.^[3]

Notable burials

Valentí Almirall i Llozer, Catalan nationalist and politician
Lola Anglada, illustrator
Xavier Benguerel [es], author
Francesc Canals i Ambrós [ca], "Santet", a young man of Barcelona of humble origin who died at age 22, to whom miracles are popularly attributed
Anselmo Clavé [ca], musician and politician
José Mariano de Cabanes [es], mayor of Barcelona
José Luis de Vilallonga, writer, actor and aristocrat
Josep Llimona i Bruguera, sculptor
Miguel Llobet, classical guitarist
Narcís Oller, author
Manuel Porcar i Tió [ca], mayor of Barcelona
Ramon Reventós i Farrarons, architect
Jordi Sabater i Pi, ecologist and primatologist
Mary Santpere, actress
Cast Sendra i Barrufet [es] (Cassen), actor
Carmen Tórtola Valencia, ballerina

References

^ Rhoads, Lauren (2017). 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers. ISBN 978-0316438438.
^ Rhoads, Lauren (7 October 2016). "Cemetery of the Week #147: Poblenou Cemetery". cemeterytravel.com. Cemetery Travel. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^ Stewart, Jessica (20 April 2021). "'The Kiss of Death': The Magnificent Sculpture Celebrating the Afterlife". mymodernmet.com. My Modern Met. Retrieved 26 October 2021.