La Necropolis de Colón, considered to be the biggest open-air museum in Havana, is located in a populous area of the city: el Vedado. It coexists with Cuban usual joy, but people gaze respectfully at the famous cemetery; whether because of its magnificence or because it is destined to become our final resting place.
As the people who live in Havana are used to seeing the cemetery’s majestic outer walls, we do not pay attention to its particular features: for example, Colón Cemetery is considered as the third cemetery in the world, after the cemeteries from Genoa and Barcelona, because of its magnificence and its large size, because it covers 560 thousand square meters; and he is also one of the most curious cemeteries because of the majesty of its pantheons and its original epitaphs, which reflect the Cubans’ wit and craftiness.
According to the book “Cuba Arquitectura y Urbanismo”, written by Enrique Martinez y Martinez, this cemetery “was the most important religious construction built in Havana during the 19th century”.
Its chapel is the only one in Cuba which is octagonal in shape and which can simultaneously hold almost 700 people when religious ceremonies are officiated there. A painting that portrays the Final Judgment appears on the wall behind the altar. It was painted by Maestro José Melero, who was the first principal of the oldest academy of plastic arts in Cuba.
It is also the only cemetery dedicated to Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) in America, although there isn’t any sculpture in memory of the Grand Admiral in this graveyard. And, his mortal remains were not even the first ones buried there, because the bones found in the Cathedral were not Colón’s mortal remains and they are still unidentifiable. Colón Cemetery was declared a National Monument by the UNESCO, in 1987.
I suggest going for a walk across this city, where marble and vegetation can be enjoyed together. You‘ll discover the memories that still survive among the cemetery’s stones, and you’ll discover excerpts of the history of Havana city.
