Strange tombstones used by people to try to preserve the memory of strong feelings

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Tombstones, in addition to dates and names, can reflect sincere emotions. Sometimes, looking at peculiar works of art, it is possible to restore whole stories - sad or funny, sometimes tragic, but most often telling about strong feelings that seemed to people worthy for this memory to survive themselves.

Faithful spouses

The spouses buried in these graves have been married for 38 years. Colonel Jay van Gorkum and Lady van Efferden were married in 1842. However, after death, they could not rest together - different religions interfered. The woman was Catholic and her husband was Protestant. Each of them had to be in their own cemetery. In addition, the wife belonged to an aristocratic family, all members of which, according to tradition, after death, rested in the family crypt. But the lady before her death made an order - to be buried as close to her husband as possible. Family friends found an unusual way out of the sad situation. Two graves, separated by a wall, were joined by stone hands, and now the faithful spouses are together again.

Favorite work

And this monument keeps the story of how strong feelings can be felt for your favorite work. David Alleno, an Italian immigrant, worked in Argentina for almost thirty years as a caretaker of one of the most famous cemeteries in Buenos Aires. Many years of work allowed him to save enough money to … be buried at his favorite workplace. David had arranged for the final resting place in advance. During his lifetime, he went to his homeland only to find a skilled carver and order him a tombstone. Now, for more than a hundred years, all visitors to the Recoleta cemetery can see him here - with keys, a broom and a watering can. There is a legend that the hard-working caretaker passed away as soon as the artist completed his monument, but experts in local beliefs refute it and say that Alleno then admired his future tombstone for many years later.

Mother's love

The famous Hollywood actress and writer Carrie Fisher, who we remember as Princess Leia from Star Wars, passed away in December 2016. The next day, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, suffered a stroke while organizing her daughter's funeral, and she also died suddenly. For American audiences, the name of this popular singer and actress was no less known. All her life Carrie believed that she chose a profession only thanks to her mother, whom she looked up to all her life. Despite the fact that their relationship was sometimes difficult, the two women were united by a strong emotional bond. Carrie dedicated the novel "Postcards from the Edge of the Abyss" to her mother, based on which the film of the same name starring Meryl Streep was shot.

The face of the beloved wife

Interestingly, one of the most visited tourist sites in Paris, along with the Eiffel Tower and Versailles, is the ancient Pere Lachaise cemetery. More than two million people come here every year. This interest is understandable - many famous writers, artists and musicians of the past and historical figures who are still remembered and loved are buried here. But, in addition, the French cemetery sometimes surprises with very unusual tombstones that keep touching stories. For example, one of the most famous monuments of Père Lachaise is the sculpture on the grave of the musician and actor Fernand Arbelot. Dying, the man wished to forever look at the face of his beloved wife, and the sculptor Adolph Vansart embodied this desire in the form of an unusual monument.

Domesticity

Actor, writer, beer and director Joe Mafel is still called "the face of South African entertainment." His grave fully reflects the cheerful and light character of this super-popular star of the African continent. The monument is, in fact, a copy of the living room: a flat-screen TV, a coffee table and Joe's favorite armchair. It seems that the actor will now come and sit down with all the comforts. A kind of humor is also a way to express love for the departed.

Old quarrels

This family crypt is another attraction in the Argentine Recoleta Cemetery. The faithful spouses resting here lived together for a very long time, but they became famous for the fact that they did not speak to each other for a couple of decades. Salvador Maria del Lane was an Argentine politician and vice president of the country. At 33, he married 17-year-old Tiburcia Dominguez, and the first years of the marriage were difficult economically, but very happy. The couple had seven children. But when the husband received a good inheritance and strengthened his position, he managed to offend his wife very much, accusing her of spending too much on toilets and jewelry. After that, Tiburcia did not speak with her husband for more than 20 years - until his death. And even after, ordering the tombstones, she made sure that her bust was forever placed with her back to the sculpture of her husband. So the offended woman took revenge on her husband.

Cemeteries, as historical sites attracting millions of tourists, are not surprising today, but in the 19th century, a peculiar fashion arose in the United States to arrange picnics and have fun in resting places.