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Argentina

Several of the graves have been declared National Historical Monuments and are protected by the Argentinian government.

Some are very simple and you look at coffins laid to rest for the world to see.

Recoleta Cemetery was once a garden affiliated with the adjoining Our Lady of Pilar church (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar), built in 1732 located to the right of the photo.

The cemetery is laid out in a grid pattern, with wide lanes and is easy to walk around in.

Colored etchings on the glass of a family vault.

It is amazing the time and money that are spent on these vaults.

Walking through the cemetery is like walking through an old village.

Final resting place of Eva Peron

Maiden name was Duarte. This is the family vault.

By far the most popular and visited tomb is Eva "Evita" Peron's which is always decorated with flowers and letters from admirers. To prevent her body from being stolen (yet again!), as it had by several military governments, she was finally buried deep in a concrete vault 8 m (27 ft.) underground in 1976.

Most sites are well-maintained although some aren't (and these likely will soon be occupied by different tenants). See the cob webs from decades just hanging in the doorway.

Another popular place to stop is Rufina Cambaceres' tomb. She was a young woman who was buried alive in the early 1900s, so her story is especially grisly. She appeared to be dead, perhaps being catatonic or in a coma, and was buried. A few days after her interment, workers heard screams from the tomb. When it was opened, she truly was dead but there were scratches on her face and on the inside of her coffin from her attempts to escape.

An interesting and unusual tomb is that of Liliana Crociati (de Szaszak). Liliana was 26 years old and, while visiting Innsbruck in 1970 was killed when an avalanche destroyed her hotel. Adjacent to the tomb, which was designed by her mother, is a life-size bronze statue of Liliana in her wedding dress. Subsequently, following the death of her pet dog, a bronze statue of it was added, with Liliana's hand petting its head

Besides the tombs, there's a large population of feral cats that resides in and around the cemetery. These are fed by volunteers and are themselves a popular attraction, especially with children.

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