Some old gems from the Prazeres Cemetery, Lisboa

Here are some gems i'd like to show you. They are quite dark and gloomy but that only reflects a main  purpose of my blog (where the other is about beauty).

The Skull is quite often a symbol to be found on portugese cemeteries and they come in a surprising variety. But before we get to the skulls i'd like to show you this one:

What really gets me is the death-mask of the man buried there. The whole grave is a stunning piece of art.















Now to the skulls. Here follows a collection of the ones i've found there.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

I'm not sure if i'm able to do more posts until Christmas so i'm using this opportunity to wish all my readers a merry Christmas!

2010 was a very good year for me when it comes to cemeteries: I've visited a fair number of them (and thankfully the majority wasn't dull) and i've made about 2.500  pictures worthwhile to keep...

Here's a list of the most notable Cemeteries i've visisted:

Budapest, Kerepesi Cemetery
Budapest, Farkasréti Cemetery
London, Highgate Cemetery
London, Kensal Green Cemetery
Italy, Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
Italy, Camposanto di Staglieno, Genoa
Italy, Cimitero La Spezia
Hamburg, Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Hamburg, Niendorf Cemtery
Hamburg, Nienstedt Cemetery
Herford, Marienfriedhof
Bielefeld, Johannisfriedhof
Minden, Nordfriedhof
Aberdeen, Nellfield Cemetery

These are the ones that really were worth a visit. I've seen many others as well but frankly, they were quite dull and depressing.

Which gets me straight to the point: Personally i'm not a big friend of Christmas. But i understand that the rest of the christian world is very fond of it. So i'm not going to spoil it for you by ranting on about the absurdity it means to me. On the contrary i'm giving you a christmas present: An Angel that will hopefully light your day and even the next year...

Just one thing though for you all: Try this as a background for browsing my pictures here. It's worth it!

And another last word: Here's one that reminds me at least remotely of Christmas:

Camposanto di Staglieno, Genova - Shadowplay-

Another Title from Joy Division but not another cover...

This looks a little bit like a dementor but since i'm a muggle that was just my imagination.

Camposanto di Staglieno, Genova: Irregular Section Part II

The irregular Section of the Staglieno Cemetery offers some real huge tombs. The Capella Raggio (1895) (Architect: Luigi Rovelli)) was inspired of the Milan Duomo, a huge gothic cathedral.

To show the opposite here's a detail of a forged iron fence that went on for at least a hundred meters.

It's a true masterpiece of forging and just wonder how much that would cost today?

Something to Celebrate: Today the 1,000th visitor arrived!

And to celebrate it properly i've selected one of my all-time favourite pictures:

It was taken at the 29th March this year in Budapest.

















The next post will continue with the Camposanto Staglieno, Genoa.

Thanks to all the visitors here. There are not many who give me direct feedback but the statistics tell me that there are quite a few regular visitors here.

Stay tuned! I'm sure it's worth it!