L’Escala Marine Cemetery is a neoclassical cemetery, made of simple materials, completely plastered and painted bright white, typical of some maritime cemeteries. Built in 1835, it has been a cultural asset of national interest since 1978. Today, most of the tombs no longer have tombstones. Many were tombs of sailors and fishermen who could not afford them, however, the ones that do remain have very interesting epitaphs. Particularly noteworthy are the tombs of Caterina Albert, a writer born in L’Escala who had to sign most of her works under the male pseudonym of Víctor Català, and that of Josep Esquirol, an early-20th-century photographer. The cemetery has survived as a major neighbourhood movement successfully carried out several actions to ensure its preservation in the early 1970s.
Literary Text
Me’n vaig al cementiri del meu poble
bell en sa solitud, senzill i noble
tot ell parat de blanc, color de pau
sota el cel esplendent i un gran cel blau.
M’hi passejo tot sol pel cementiri
com un escarabat per dins d’un lliri
i m’apar que és quelcom profanador
de mos passos inquiets la lleu remor.
El terrer, adobat amb carn humana
és divís en jardins de folla ufana
i entorn d’ells, en fileres apretats,
els nínxols van traient llurs blancs esclats.
Dintre els nínxols i sota els bells jardins
tinc un món enterrat de conveïns
d’homes, dones, infants que he conegut
i que han mort un a un sens fer traüt.
De Caterina Albert
Text published on the Espais Escrits mapaliterari.cat website. Catalan Literary Heritage Network.
Location
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Carrer De Mossèn Salvador Jué Pujolar, 17130 La Escala, Provincia de Gerona, España
Category
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