C-14 6 | Cemeteries are not just “art spaces” but places for remembrance, too; places that make us think of our history, to look at people and deeds that belong to our past.
That is exactly what happens with the grave of Armando Palacio Valdés: it both artistic for its value as building and a place for because of the importance of this famous writer.
Armando Palacio Valdés (1853-1938) was born in Laviana, but the family moved to Avilés shortly after. He was one of the most important writers of Spanish realism; he was member of the Spanish Royal Language Academy and a prolific author. Some of his novels were set in Avilés (Marta y María or La novela de un novelista). His mausoleum, where there always is a bouquet, was built in 1941 after a design by the sculptor Jacinto Higueras, who was awarded with the Sculpture National Prize. It represents Demetria, a character from his novel La Aldea Perdida [The lost village] and a medallion with his figure that reads (extracted from the aforementioned novel):
“Viajero, si algún dia escalas las montañas de Asturias y tropiezas con la tumba del poeta, deja sobre ella una rama de madreselva. Así Dios te bendiga y guíe tus pasos con felicidad por el Principado”.
It was built some time after the cemetery, after the City Council decided to build it in honor of the city's most famous writer. It cost 240 euro.
His memory lives on among the citizens of Avilés and the most important theatre, a street and a school have been named after him.
Armando Palacio Valdés (1853-1938) was born in Laviana, but the family moved to Avilés shortly after. He was one of the most important writers of Spanish realism; he was member of the Spanish Royal Language Academy and a prolific author. Some of his novels were set in Avilés (Marta y María or La novela de un novelista). His mausoleum, where there always is a bouquet, was built in 1941 after a design by the sculptor Jacinto Higueras, who was awarded with the Sculpture National Prize. It represents Demetria, a character from his novel La Aldea Perdida [The lost village] and a medallion with his figure that reads (extracted from the aforementioned novel):
“Viajero, si algún dia escalas las montañas de Asturias y tropiezas con la tumba del poeta, deja sobre ella una rama de madreselva. Así Dios te bendiga y guíe tus pasos con felicidad por el Principado”.
It was built some time after the cemetery, after the City Council decided to build it in honor of the city's most famous writer. It cost 240 euro.
His memory lives on among the citizens of Avilés and the most important theatre, a street and a school have been named after him.