Monday, August 17, 2015

Santa Clara Mission Cemetery

I love this cemetery, the old rows of stones and small mausoleums, the small chapel that you sit in with remains in the walls. So much to see, so much history. This is one of those 'all day' cemeteries that you want to explore for more than hour. However due to time we only had an hour before the guard told us we had to leave.


One of my favorite images of the day. I noticed a few missing limbs that day but this totally had me pause and take a photo. 


As the gates closed behind us I noticed this cat and another playing amongst the stones.



I liked the dark marble with the natural stone of this marker. Plus I think the name Lillo is pretty cool. 


Hail to the V! Yes - I am poking fun of those stupid commercials for Summer's Eve - I hate them!


Saint Thérèse of Lisieux aka The Little Flower is one of the saint statues in the Saint Clare chapel. Folding chairs and remains right next to each other might creep some out. In earlier times bodies where buried in churches and the best spots were reserved for those with money naturally. 


My favorite part was the rows of these tiny mausoleum. They looked strong yet fragile at the same time. Like rows of tiny doll houses collecting dust.

2 comments:

  1. This is probably a dumb question but do people steal the heads off the sculptures, or just smash them to bits? My local cemetery has all the lamb heads removed, it's pretty grim!

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    1. anything is possible. however the lambs you talk about are usually late 1800s early 1900s and i see a lot with missing heads here. a lot of old stones have missing limbs. i just think it is a nature thing not vandalism.
      a lot of cemetery vandalism occurs with valuable objects or things that can be resold for money. like metal from mausoleum doors or gates. heck at the cemetery in town you cannot leave anything out for your loved ones or it will get snatched within hours.

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