Permanent Address

Just outside of central Lisbon and at the western terminus of the famous 28 tram line is Prazeres Cemetery. Even if you're not a student of ornate monuments to the dead, the peaceful grounds are both a respite from the surrounding bustle and an invitation for reflection.

Prazeres became the final resting place for Lisbon's elite after a cholera outbreak in 1833. Since then, aristocrats, artists, intellectuals, and politicians have their final resting place here. Its name might seem odd - prazeres means "pleasures" - but the name stems from a 16th-century estate that previously encompassed these grounds.

This family mausoleum resembles a traditional Portuguese home. Note the blue tiles, which you'll find throughout Lisbon's older, more elegant edifices.

Today, it's the largest and oldest collection of cypress trees on the Iberian Peninsula. It's also a great place to wander around. The individual mausoleums are impressive in their ornateness, sculptures, and symbology.

There are hundreds of death-related sculptures in Prazeres.

Families pay a monthly fee to maintain the mausoleums. "I don't know how much they pay," a guard told me, "but I'd imagine it's not cheap." When a family or estate stops paying, the guard said, the plots eventually go to public auction (look for signs that say hasta, if you're in the market). Most structures are very well maintained, some adorned with flowers or notes. Others look like they haven't had a visitor in years.

Clockwise from above, left: A boarded-up entrance offers a peek of a weathered coffin and an ancient bouquet; visitors can see inside of many mausoleums; Prazeres is laid out like a miniature, silent city; a weatherbeaten metal sign reads "abandoned."

Although you might think there would be some nasty smells by having all these decaying bodies sitting up at eye level, the mausoleums' design includes drainpipes from the crypts so that any gasses or leakage run underground in a process known as casket "burping."

On my walk there on a dreary day, two places caught my eye. First is the dedication to firefighters: There is an entire section of Prazeres dedicated to those public servants.

Clockwise from upper right: "In memory of Lisbon's municipal firefighters;" "Firefighters burial grounds;" The red portion reads "died in the line of duty;" Many of the tombstones feature images of those who reside beneath them.

I didn't see every plot in the cemetery, but overall the mausoleums looked rather old. I only saw one that seemed new, and it was flanked with candles, letters, poems, and more.

The name on this one is Sara Carreira, who was the daughter of a famous Portuguese singer and a budding artist in her own right. Carreira died in a car accident in December 2020, and her loss is still mourned.

I also enjoyed reading the inscriptions on the mausoleums. You'll see the word saudade often. It's one of those beautiful words that belie direct translation, but you can think of it as a deeply held, primal sense of longing.