Recoleta Cemetery

Brief Information

Recoleta Cemetery began not as an urban landmark, but as a cemetery attached to the monastery and the Church of El Pilar. In 1822, the monastery lands were turned into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. That is why this place is interesting to read not only as a row of famous graves, but also as a site where religious territory became an urban public space.

Later, the meaning of Recoleta changed once again. After the yellow fever epidemic in the 1870s, affluent residents moved to the north of the city, and the district of the same name became prestigious. As a result, the cemetery became the burial place of many representatives of the Argentine elite. Some burials are recognized as historical monuments: what matters here is not only the surname on the slab, but also the status of an individual grave itself as a monument.

What to Notice First

Information about Recoleta’s appearance is limited: what is named is not materials and forms, but the layout of the place. Three physical clues can be compared. The first is the connection with the Church of El Pilar: the cemetery arose beside it, and this explains its monastic beginnings. The second is the territory of the former monastery lands itself, which became a public cemetery; this transition helps one perceive the space as the result of a change in purpose, not simply as an old necropolis.

The third clue is the character of the burials. Among them are graves of Argentine presidents, writers, artists, scientists, military figures, and politicians, and some are recognized as historical monuments. It makes sense to notice not only famous names, but also the difference in statuses: an ordinary burial, the grave of a well-known person, and a memorial burial speak to different reasons why the place became significant. One separate detail stands out: the grave of the Russian military engineer Alexey Schwartz, which links this Buenos Aires necropolis with an émigré biography.