Routes to discover the history and art of cemeteries

October 2019.- Once again, Àltima is organizing traditional guided tours for All Saints’ Day at the cemeteries of Sant Sebastià in Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú. This year, a new route has been added at the Viladecans Cemetery. These cemeteries, which contain some of the most significant heritage legacies in our country, will explore the history of the past 150 years in each municipality through the illustrious figures who lived there.

The tours will review history through the graves, many of which are monumental tombs and mausoleums filled with funerary symbolism, created by prestigious architects and sculptors who are icons of Catalan Modernism, such as Josep Llimona, Domènech Estapà, Manel Fuxà, and Frederic Marès. These true works of art illustrate the experiences that shape much of the history of Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú. This year, the new route in Viladecans will also explore the city's evolution through its most significant figures, who have left a lasting mark on its history.

The cemeteries of Sitges and Vilanova are part of the European Association of Significant Cemeteries (ASCE), which recognizes the valuable historical, cultural, and artistic heritage of these sites. Sitges Cemetery is also included in the ASCE’s European Cemetery Route, which highlights key European cemeteries.

"Sitges and the "Route of the Souls," Saturday, October 26 at 11 a.m.

The old Sitges Cemetery, inaugurated in 1814, is located next to the Sant Sebastià beach, a privileged spot on the Garraf coast near the Sitges church. As soon as visitors cross the small arch of this Mediterranean-style cemetery, they are greeted by the most spectacular modernist graves, all located within a short distance of each other. These are works by architects and sculptors such as Josep Llimona, Frederic Marès, Manuel Fuxà, Agapit Vallmitjana, Alexandre Mariotti, Josep Reynés, Joan Rebull, and Pere Jou. The route will review this artistic legacy, which houses the mausoleums and graves of some of the most illustrious figures of the town.

Vilanova i la Geltrú and the "Artistic Soul of the Cemetery," Sunday, October 27 at 11 a.m.

This tour will allow visitors to learn about the history of the Garraf capital through the art and history of the graves and mausoleums of the "indianos" buried in the cemetery, which opened in 1855. The visit to the graves of some of the most prominent figures in politics, culture, or business will reveal true works of art by architects such as Bonaventura Pollés and Domènech Estapà. Examples include the mausoleums of writers Víctor Balaguer and Manuel de Cabanyes, painter Joaquim Mir, and politician and businessman Francesc Gumà.

"The Soul of Viladecans," Sunday, November 3 at 11 a.m.

The Viladecans Cemetery has served its community since 1868, the year it was inaugurated. The guided tour will reveal when and why this facility was built and where some of the most notable people from the municipality are buried: mayors, politicians, landowners, priests, entrepreneurs, football players, doctors, and the victims of the 1938 bombings during the Spanish Civil War.