Cemeteries train
the eye to glance downward. As if the thought of death weren’t somber enough,
most are flat and grey. The only breath
of life – the occasional wilting flowers that rest beside headstones. If you have the opportunity to visit the cemetery, Père Lachaise in Paris, you’ll find it challenging to look anywhere else, but up.
Paris has a way of making chipped paint look remarkably
appealing. Even the forgotten tombs that
are overrun with weeds and bear headstones with etchings that have long faded,
still manage to draw attention. My inspiration for the visit was to see the
final resting place for people I’ve admired through history. Maps are offered for a few euros that
highlight the famous gravesites. You’ll
want to allow time to meander. This cemetery
boasts over 100 acres. Stone pathways
snake through the grounds, along with gravel paths that sneak around
tombs. You will also want to wear good walking shoes…I didn’t, which is why I
ended up barefoot.
Père Lachaise combines art and nature, seamlessly. It feels
like a serene park, with graves being the decorative accent pieces to the gently
rolling landscape. Patches of greenery
and the occasional stone bench allow you to sit and breathe in the stillness. If you like sculpture and architecture, your
eyes will be rewarded. Countless grave
sites are designed as tiny chapels; just big enough to allow one or two
mourners to kneel inside. It isn’t rare
to find beautiful stained glass windows adorning crumbling walls, and relics
from centuries past inside these architectural gems. Some doors remain open, while countless others
are bolted shut and overrun with decades worth of neglect that rears its face
through thick masses of cobwebs.
After spending two hours within the stone walls of this
Paris landmark, I had only made it to three out of ten historical figures I had
intended to visit: Edith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, and Gertrude Stein. Victor Hugo, Eugene Delacroix,
Gustave Caillebotte, Jacques-Louis David
, Jim Morrison, Balzac, and Oscar Wilde would have to wait for a future visit…or
not.
Père Lachaise eloquently drapes death in serenity and beauty.
After leaving, I felt more alive. My feet were bare, but my soul fulfilled.
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