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monumento histórico nacional

Argentina, Ministerio de Cultura

As of 1940, a commission under the Secretary of Culture began to identify & catalog the nation’s heritage. Since its inception, the Comisión Nacional de Museos y Monumentos y Lugares Históricos has singled out 89 tombs of noted personalities & groups buried in Recoleta Cemetery, citing that it is:

The unavoidable duty of the Argentine people to demonstrate their gratitude to those who, for their public or private activity, made possible the current greatness of the nation… obliging the national government to watch over the maintenance & care of the sepulchers where their remains are kept.

What’s interesting is how many & when certain tombs were chosen. Below is a complete list of the commission’s selection along with the official decree #/year when each of the following tombs were chosen.

The first two under Decreto 30.837/45:

Decreto 2.236/46 added three more the following year:

  • Valentín Alsina
  • Marcos Balcarce
  • Dalmacio Vélez Sarfield (removed from this list in 1981 after the transfer of his remains to the Palacio de Justicia in Córdoba)

Later in 1946, the largest number was added… 53 under Decreto 3.039/46:

A few more stragglers from the same year under Decreto 12.086/46:

Only one tomb was added the following year under Decreto 34.033/47:

  • Francisco Seguí

And one more in 1951 under Decreto 15.090/51:

  • Pedro Alcántara de Somellera

After the Perón years, evidently there were priorities other than national heritage. In the 1960s only eight tombs were added to the list. The first is the most surprising since Lonardi led the revolution against Perón & Lonardi’s tomb was listed only four years after his death. The minimum wait is typically 50 years to qualify for the list.

The law (not a decree in the following two cases) also states that the government will pay one million pesos for tomb upkeep. In 1960 U$S 1 = 83 pesos, so that’s over U$S 12,000… doesn’t seem like much but adjusting for inflation, that would be over U$D 80,000 today!

Ley 15.451 in 1960:

Ley 15.454 also in 1960 granted 2 million pesos for this tomb:

Decreto 1.259/62 added the first for 1962:

  • Martiniano Leguizamón

Decreto 5.407/62 paid homage to Navy personnel, adding four:

  • Erasmo Obligado
  • Alejandro Murature
  • José Murature
  • Luis Piedrabuena (removed from this list after the transfer of his remains to Carmen de Patagones)

Decreto 5.485/64 added one more very important person:

Ten years would pass before any further additions. Decreto 649/1974 added only:

  • Donato Álvarez

Several were added during the last military dictatorship. All additions were made individually from then to the present day. In other words, one tomb per decree. Of note is the addition on 26 July 1983 of the tomb of Luis Vernet, first governor of the Falkland Islands… a little over one year after Argentina lost the war.

Of notable absence is a lack of heritage activity after democracy was restored in December 1983. No tombs in Recoleta Cemetery were added to the list during the governments of Alfonsín or Menem, nor following the economic crisis of 2001. Only during the last year of Néstor Kirchner’s term were two tombs added:

  • Benjamín Paz, Decreto 124/2007
  • Marcos Paz, Decreto 125/2007

Last but not least, the entrance gates of all three major cemeteries in Buenos Aires —Recoleta, Chacarita & San José de Flores— were listed as national heritage (Decreto 1289/2007). Although this is an extensive list, we feel many other vaults should be added either based on historical or architectural value. Regardless of political differences, Eva Perón should definitely be on the list. New additions will continue to be posted below.

Update (30 Dec 2011): The crypt of President Roque Sáenz Peña was declared a national historic monument in November 2011 (Decreto PEN Nº 1425/11).

13 Comments

  1. CSC CSC

    My people are not famous, but I think some of them are in the cemetery. Is there a complete list online I could look up?

    C

  2. CSC – Unfortunately not. There have been over 350,000 burials since the cemetery opened in 1822 & putting that kind of info online is beyond the capacity of the admin staff. It would be great to have a complete list online though.

  3. Hi Robert,

    Just wanted to say what a great resource your blog and research about Recoleta Cemetery is. I stumbled across it searching for information about some of the tombs and sculptures I had photographed on a 3 day laneway by laneway visit to the cemetery. Another candidate for your sports category would be the various tombs I saw dedicated to the presidents of the jockey club!

    • Hi parischris – Thanks very much for the comment. It sounds like you had a great time in the cemetery. Jockey Club entries would be good for sports although I’d have to add it to the Politics category too… most of the Presidents of Argentina during the mid- to late- 1800s were members. It was a place where members decided who the next Pres would be 🙂 Saludos!

  4. susanat,.giannoni defferrari susanat,.giannoni defferrari

    I am looking for my family name ,there are any giannoni’s,and defferraris?on your list?

  5. Susana – There is a search box in the left column of this blog. I know of one Defferrari in the cemetery with a fantastic mausoleum.

  6. Good morning, sir. I write from Italy. I received photo of the Paraguay soldiers monument . In this could be also mygrand- grand. aunt José Guerrino Greni. Please could you be so kindly to inform me if there is on the walls all the names of the soldiers, and maybe send me a photo?
    Many thanks and best regards

    Guido Grenni

    • Good morning, Guido. Unfortunately the only plaques that list individual names are for a few officers. In fact, I have never thought to ask how many soldiers are actually buried inside. I will continue to look for information & if I discover anything about José Guerrino Greni, I will send you an email.

      • María Victoria María Victoria

        Hi Robert and Guido, sorry for barging in, but I have a complete list of all the people buried in the grave that I found doing some research, so I thought I might help with this. There is a total of 86 people whose remains are in the “Panteón”. 35 in coffins, 35 in urns and 5 in “ceniceros”. None of the names listed correspond to José Guerrino Greni, though.

        • Thanks very much for your comment, María Victoria! I would love to hear about your research one day if you have time to chat. Very glad you could find a list of all the interred!

          • María Victoria Catta María Victoria Catta

            Hi Robert!! Te escribo en español porque sé que te comunicas en criollo también 😉 . Había puesto mal mi mail y recién vi esta respuesta. Soy una lectora ávida de tu blog, historiadora y una fanática del cementerio de la Recoleta. Hace poco, escribiendo un paper para una maestría sobre temas culturales que estoy haciendo, me metí en el tema sepulcros históricos nacionales y me fui a bucear al archivo de la Comisión Nacional de Monumentos en su sede actual en Alvear y Rodríguez Peña. Fui interesada en ver en vivo las fotos que están en el libro de De Masi (obviamente citado en tu blog!) y la responsable del área me acercó además una serie de biblioratos llenos de documentos relacionados con los sepulcros históricos. Más que nada son reclamos de gente que pide plata para restaurar tumbas (cosa que el Estado suele negar…), pero como los reclamos vienen a veces acompañados de documentación anexa es un espacio interesante para encontrar cosas que una no sabría donde buscar. Sobre la tumba de los Guerreros del Paraguay, por ejemplo, figuraba una pregunta respecto de si los restos de una persona específica estaban ahí y en la respuesta anexaron el documento con la lista completa detallando por piso cada una de las urnas y ataúdes, al que aludí en el comentario anterior. Le saqué una foto a este y otros documentos que, obviamente, me encantaría compartirte ya que tu blog me ha dado tanto. Planeo volver en el futuro a seguir consultando info y desde ya estaré a tu disposición para cualquier otra cosa que necesites o te pueda interesar de este espacio.
            Saludos y hablamos cuando quieras!

          • Hola María – Muchas gracias por tu comentario… super interesante como encontraste los nombres de cada persona enterrada ahí! Gracias por querer compartirlo conmigo y sobre todo por poder contar contigo como investigador. Es todo un laburo encontrar documentos así y más para mí ya que no vivo en Argentina. Si quieres charlar un día por WhatsApp, te paso mi celu. Perdona que tardaba tanto en contestarte, es que guiaba un grupo de turistas por toda España, uno dio positivo por COVID, pensaba que tendría que dejar el grupo yo, en fin, mil cosas. Espero hablar contigo pronto! Saludos!

    • José Ansaldo José Ansaldo

      Guido . Mi name is José Ansaldo ,I’m grandgrandson of Guerrino Giuseppe Grenni. His daughter Josefina was my grandfathers mother. He isnt in Recoleta Cemetery,I think he is in Bragado’s Cemetery ,in Bs As province. If you’re searching for information,you can write to me to jiansaldo@gmail.com . I’ll provide it gladly.

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