Editing La Recoleta Cemetery (section)

==Description==
Set in {{convert|5.5|ha|acre}},<ref name="Size">{{cite web |url=http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/espacio_publico/mantenimiento_urbano/cementerios/recoleta.php?menu_id=23570 |title=Cementerio de la Recoleta |publisher=Buenos Aires City Government |language=es |trans-title=La Recoleta Cemetery |access-date=12 December 2011 |quote=Su superficie actual es de 5,5 Ha y sus límites son las calles Junín, Quintana, Vicente López y Azcuénaga. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323055948/http://buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/espacio_publico/mantenimiento_urbano/cementerios/recoleta.php?menu_id=23570 |archive-date=23 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the site contains 4691 vaults, all above ground, of which 94 have been declared National Historical Monuments by the [[Government of Argentina|Argentine government]] and are protected by the state.<ref name="Vaults">{{cite news |title=Noventa y cuatro tumbas son consideradas monumentos |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/11/laciudad/h-05701.htm |newspaper=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |date=11 November 2007 |access-date=14 December 2011 |language=es |trans-title=Ninety-four tombs are considered monuments |quote=En Recoleta hay 94 tumbas declaradas Monumento Histórico Nacional -están protegidas por el Estado- sobre un total de 4.691 bóvedas.}}</ref> The entrance to the cemetery is through neo-classical gates with tall [[Doric order|Doric]] columns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |title=Cementerio de la Recoleta |work=Guía de la Arquitectura de Buenos Aires |publisher=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |language=es |trans-title=Recoleta cemetery |access-date=13 December 2011 |quote=Esta construcción, de doble hilera de columna de orden dórico sin base, alberga a las tres puertas de 3 m. de alto, trabajadas en hierro y coronadas por medallones alegóricos que jerarquizan el acceso al cementerio. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422040156/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |archive-date=22 April 2012 |url-status=dead }} </ref> The cemetery contains many elaborate marble [[mausoleum]]s, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles such as [[Art Deco]], [[Art Nouveau]], [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]], and [[Gothic Revival architecture|Neo-Gothic]],<ref>{{cite news |title=El cuidado del más antiguo cementerio |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2000/12/07/o-03002.htm |newspaper=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |date=7 December 2000 |access-date=13 December 2011 |language=es |trans-title=The maintenance of the oldest cemetery |quote=En el cementerio se hallan reflejados estilos tan disímiles y ricos como el clasicismo, el barroco, el neogótico, el neoclásico, el art nouveau y el art decó, lo cual obliga a que la reparación conserve y restaure las características originarias.}}</ref> and most materials used between 1880 and 1930 in the construction of tombs were imported from [[Paris]] and [[Milan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |title=Cementerio de la Recoleta |work=Guía de la Arquitectura de Buenos Aires |publisher=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |language=es |trans-title=Recoleta cemetery |access-date=13 December 2011 |quote=Fue así que la mayoría de los materiales y detalles arquitectónicos empleados en la construcción de las tumbas, durante el período comprendido entre 1880 y 1930, fueron importados de París y Milán. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422040156/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |archive-date=22 April 2012 |url-status=dead }} </ref> The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. These mausoleums are still being used by rich families in Argentina that have their own vault and keep their deceased there. While many of the mausoleums are in fine shape and well-maintained, others have fallen into disrepair.<ref>{{cite news |title=El cementerio de la Recoleta, entre el turismo y el abandono |first=Nora |last=Sánchez |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2007/11/11/laciudad/h-05615.htm |newspaper=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |date=11 November 2007 |access-date=13 December 2011 |language=es |trans-title=The Recoleta cemetery, between tourism and neglect |quote=Se ven techos desmoronados, vegetación, puertas abiertas, ataúdes deteriorados y vidrios y mármoles rotos.}}</ref> Several can be found with broken glass and littered with rubbish. Among many memorials are works by notable Argentine sculptors, [[Lola Mora]] and [[Luis Perlotti]] for instance.<ref name="Sculptors">{{cite web |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |title=Cementerio de la Recoleta |work=Guía de la Arquitectura de Buenos Aires |publisher=Clarín |location=Buenos Aires |language=es |trans-title=Recoleta cemetery |access-date=13 December 2011 |quote=En muchos de los sepulcros se encuentran importantes obras escultóricas, como la de la artista Lola Mora para la bóveda de López Lecube, los Angeles que custodian la de José C. Paz, esculpidos por Jules Coutan quien también fue autor del monumento a Nicolás Avellaneda; el sepulcro del Gral. Quiroga con la imagen de La Dolorosa firmada por Tantardini; las obras de Perlotti para los del Gral. Ricchieri y el boxeador Firpo, entre otras. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422040156/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/especiales/itinerarios/3/3_8.htm |archive-date=22 April 2012 |url-status=dead }} </ref> The [[tomb of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak]], due to its unusual design, is of special interest.<ref name="TheNewYorkTimes">{{cite web |last=Cansino |first=Barbara |date=10 January 1999 |title=Cemetery For the Elite of Argentina |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/travel/cemetery-for-the-elite-of-argentina.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm |accessdate=25 November 2024 |work=The New York Times |quote=Beneath a green bronze statue of Liliana Crociati de Szaszak (1944-1970), her hand on the head of her dog Sabu, there is a poem in Italian.}}</ref>
[[File:La Recoleta Cemetery (8081434317).jpg|thumb|245x245px|View of one of the alleys]]

The cemetery also hosts a colony of stray cats which has also become an attraction. As of 2024, the resident feline population has decreased from a peak of 60 in the 1960s to about 12 due to adoption drives.<ref>{{cite news |title=The missing cemetery cats of Buenos Aires: What happened? |first=Lautaro |last=Grinspan |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/7/28/the-missing-cemetery-cats-of-buenos-aires-what-happened |work=Al Jazeera |date=28 July 2024 |access-date=28 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref>