Tag: taphophile

Postcard from Provence, France: Monumental cemeteries where Impressionists rest

postcardsfromsanantonio2 Comments
Blue postage stamp featuring a scenic view of Nice, France, with trees and hills, inscribed with 'République Française' and 'CFA'.

Above: Monument in Cimitiere du Chateau, Nice, France

A military citadel once crowned a hill overlooking the Bay of Nice. Bearing in mind that Nice did not become a permanent part of France until 1860, as part of one of the many wars fought during his reign, King Louis XIV (1638-1715) of France ordered the castle-fortress destroyed in 1706.

A portion of the grounds of the old citadel were opened as Cimetiere du Chateau in 1783. Instead of sentinels, monuments in the cemetery now occupy the most prominent vantage points for viewing the bay and surrounding countryside.

The cemetery* is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place.”

Preface to Adonais, Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1821

Continue reading “Postcard from Provence, France: Monumental cemeteries where Impressionists rest” →

Postcard from London, England: ‘Strange bedfellows’ for eternity

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Above left: Monumental effigy of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587). Above right: Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey

There is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” 

The Tempest, William Shakespeare, 1611

In recent years, you’ve been exposed to an immense quantity of footage showing the interior of Westminster Abbey: the wedding of Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011; the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022); and the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in 2023.

With no need to cover that aspect, this taphophile is jumping straight to the everyday role of Westminster – a splendid monumental cemetery housing the remains of more than 3,300 elite, a veritable who’s-who of a thousand years of British history. Grave markers underfoot lie ignored, overwhelmed by the sculptural and polychrome effigies and memorials climbing ever higher up the church walls.

If ghosts rise in the night, what bedlam must reign. According to the Westminster website, the remains of 13 kings, four queens regnant, 11 queens consort, and two more queens are interred there. Blood might run thicker than water, yet British bluebloods frequently spilled that of their kin.

Continue reading “Postcard from London, England: ‘Strange bedfellows’ for eternity” →