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City of Angels: The History of Recoleta Cemetery
El Cementerio de la Recoleta fue fundado en 1822 y desde entonces se constituyó en un "Panteón de la Patria", recibiendo a los próceres, militares, científicos, artistas, intelectuales. A partir de 1881, durante la gestión de Torcuato de Alvear como intendente, fue poblándose de importantes sepulcros diseñados por reconocidos arquitectos. Este libro da cuenta del importante patrimonio artístico que alberga este cementerio, incluyendo breves reseñas biográficas de aquellos encuyo homenaje se han erigido las bóvedas y monumentos. Ampliamente ilustrado con fotografías a todo color.
Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 17, 2016
Books in English on Argentina's Recoleta Cemetery are impossible to find, so I was thrilled when this one turned up on Amazon. It's a beautifully illustrated walking tour guide to Buenos Aires' amazing open air cemetery/museum of art and history, stuffed with full-page full-color photos of one-of-a-kind statuary and architecture.
So why don't I give the book more stars? The text reads like it's been put through Google Translate. Usually, I could figure out what it meant to say, but then there's this: "Being the only offsprirg (sic), her parents honoured her (should read their) beloved daughter building this vault in the particular style she cultivated." I'm not entirely sure what cultivated means. Preferred? The girl was 25 when she died. Maybe she was an architect, setting a fashion with her work?
The text continues, "The statue was commended to (commissioned from?) Villarich who depicted her from ancient pictures in the company of her predilect dog." The photos weren't that ancient, since she died in 1970. I think predilect is a mistranslation for favorite. It's a lovely statue, whatever the text intended to say.
The fractured English does have its charming moments. The listing above concludes with: "His (her?) father, a famous stylist, wrote a poem in Italian, distilling his sorrow." As much as I mock, I am touched by the image of the father's sorrow distilled into poetry. I'm guessing her dad wrote her epitaph.
The book has a thumbnail map for every entry, so it would be easy to locate these monuments in the overstuffed cemetery. There are even written directions and a fold-out map in the back, complete with directional arrows. All in all, it makes me want to go see Recoleta Cemetery for myself.
So why don't I give the book more stars? The text reads like it's been put through Google Translate. Usually, I could figure out what it meant to say, but then there's this: "Being the only offsprirg (sic), her parents honoured her (should read their) beloved daughter building this vault in the particular style she cultivated." I'm not entirely sure what cultivated means. Preferred? The girl was 25 when she died. Maybe she was an architect, setting a fashion with her work?
The text continues, "The statue was commended to (commissioned from?) Villarich who depicted her from ancient pictures in the company of her predilect dog." The photos weren't that ancient, since she died in 1970. I think predilect is a mistranslation for favorite. It's a lovely statue, whatever the text intended to say.
The fractured English does have its charming moments. The listing above concludes with: "His (her?) father, a famous stylist, wrote a poem in Italian, distilling his sorrow." As much as I mock, I am touched by the image of the father's sorrow distilled into poetry. I'm guessing her dad wrote her epitaph.
The book has a thumbnail map for every entry, so it would be easy to locate these monuments in the overstuffed cemetery. There are even written directions and a fold-out map in the back, complete with directional arrows. All in all, it makes me want to go see Recoleta Cemetery for myself.
September 20, 2024
I cannot wait to visit this incredible cemetery where Eva Perón is buried when we visit South America! This book with photos and short descriptions was a good place to start planning our route through the cemetery. A map and a walking route are included in the back of the book.
February 8, 2017
Ever since I can remember this historical cementery intriged me. I watched documentals about this place in YouTube and I also read some related articles, so I just couln't resist reading this book. I don't know if that makes me morbose or something, but I really like reading about the meaning of every decoration, the story of who was bury there and so on.
I've never being to Buenos Aires, and I never saw this place in person.
Being a tour guide this book is of course short in explanation, so it just leave you wanting to know a lot more about the wonderful excultured dedicated to the ones that are bury there, people that are part of the story of a nation.
I've never being to Buenos Aires, and I never saw this place in person.
Being a tour guide this book is of course short in explanation, so it just leave you wanting to know a lot more about the wonderful excultured dedicated to the ones that are bury there, people that are part of the story of a nation.
December 1, 2008
Otro libro sobre la Recoleta. Debo decir que me resultó entretenido e interesante y bastante útil a la hora de ubicar ciertas tumbas que en mis visitas anteriores no había podido encontrar. Un bonito cementerio :).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews