Cemitério de São Miguel
Pirenópolis (Goiás – GO)
Pirenópolis (Goiás – GO)
The development of Meia Ponte, currently the city of Pirenópolis, was similar to that of other settlements in the state of Goiás, which were founded by pioneers exploring the Brazilian hinterland in search for gold and precious stones. A slight divergence remains between local historians regarding the year in which the settlement was actually established. Jarbas Jayme claims it was in 1727, and Paulo Bertran, 1730. Manuel Rodrigues Tomar was the scribe who recorded the local mines discovered by Urbano do Couto Menezes, a member of the expedition of Bartolomeu “Anhanguera” Bueno. Meia Ponte provided the base for the occupation of northern Goiás. Its original population came mostly from the state of Minas Gerais and comprised migrants from Portugal as well as from the Brazilian states of Bahia and São Paulo. (BERTRAN, 1978).
The blue print reveals a particular characteristic of this cemetery that only expanded towards the west: only once its row patterning of the east and west position had pathways crossing the tree-lined entrance drive leading to St. Michael’s Chapel.
The several monuments installed at the cemetery not only mirror past memories of Pirenópolis families, but also reveal the desire to represent mentalities and the – Christian or profane – symbols that characterized an age.
The colonial-style entrance building and chapel of São Miguel Cemetery were built with adobe and covered with clay roof tiles over a hardwood roof frame. Over time, the cemetery was populated with chapel mausoleums and granite tombs decorated with figures of saints, angels and crosses. Some of these grave markers were surrounded by wrought iron fences; others were finished with tiles or yet with stones commonly found in the region. And there are also the tombs in rose and gray marble that the region´s stoneworkers decorated with designs. Rows of imperial palms line the entrance drive of the cemetery. Next to them grow cashew trees (Anacardium occidentales ), palm trees (Attalea dubia) and ornamental shrubbery here and there. From this point one can observe the Serra dos Pireneus mountain range in the distance. The cemetery is surrounded by examples of typically contemporary urban fixtures, including houses built with their backs against the cemetery wall, next to a junkyard and vacant lots.
Cemetery is a cultural institution of the Western society. The preservation of its heritage is one way to legitimize it, as well as artistics and cultural activities carried on in situ.
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