The proximity to the past All Saints festival invites reflection on architectural features in funerary monuments and necropolises. In towns across central Vinalopó, cruciform tombs with Christian references compete in number with obelisks bearing pagan hints. Alcoy cemetery reveals the urban bourgeoisie’s wealth during the industrial era. The area and its numerous pantheons offer a magnificent panorama of historicist and modernist solutions, whose artistic significance is widely acknowledged and draws considerable attention. Many monuments belong to the Carbonell Antolín family, featuring sculptures by Hernán Monllor, Moltó Valor, Ridaura, and Agustín Gisbert Vidal. The San Fabián gallery also carries Enlightenment influences with references to the 17th century, where interior gloom prevails.
The Pantheon of the Guijarro family in Alicante sits on a gentle, low hill near Villafranqueza’s city center. Its plan is an academic, isolated form with a circular main layout and two overlapping levels. The lower level serves as the burial chamber with light entering solely through the access opening. Above, a chapel hosts three altar-like altars. The space gains verticality through a half-orange dome resting on a drum. A closed area enclosed by high walls creates a quiet, secluded atmosphere. In 1844, many rebels in the liberal movement of Pantaleón Boné faced execution before these walls. The site underwent a physical restoration in the 1990s, in collaboration with M. Beviá, after years of abandonment and looting.
The Pantaleón Boné monument and the obelisk commemorating those executed on the boardwalk were designed by Vicente Bañuls. Located in front of Puerta del Mar, the monument was dismantled at the end of the civil war in 1939. Today it rests in the municipal cemetery to honor that historical moment. It is a limestone cube eighty centimeters wide, supported by four points, surrounded by cypress trees. The surrounding pottery and scattered greenery nearly conceal it from casual visitors to the necropolis.
In 1855, in the San Antón neighborhood, a funerary monument was built over two years, originally described by Elías Tormo as a cenotaph honoring the provincial governor who died during a cholera outbreak. It is a long obelisk adorned with varied sculptural motifs and perched on a broad base, located in the center of a fenced garden that emphasizes seclusion.
The municipal necropolis in Alicante traces its origins to the 1918 influenza epidemic. Its initial layout follows a grid that houses pantheons from the religious cemetery in San Blas. These small chapels reflect historicist, Byzantine, Romanesque, or neo-Gothic styles, commissioned by the local bourgeoisie. Surnames of well-known families appear alongside many anonymous ones. The pieces hold undeniable artistic interest as local sculptors’ workshops contribute their best efforts to capture the symbolism embedded in these works.
The chapel atop the site was designed by Félix de Azúa, the municipal architect of Alicante. It was originally intended to house the bodies of those who supported the winning side in the civil war. Black marble was considered for the interior but was not implemented in the final design.
A pantheon, now anonymous for lack of a tombstone, resolves the façade of its asymmetrical composition with enigmatic and engaging symbolism. Carved from Bateig stone with a clear tone and restrained emphasis, its vertical pyramidal development symbolizes a rock as an allegory of Golgotha, visible in the upper third. The lower two-thirds presents a richer mix of forms and textures. Ivy and rose motifs, signifying femininity, life, and Christian iconography, intertwine with jagged rock surfaces. A life-size half-relief female figure stands prominently, wearing a fitted tunic. The figure’s head tilts to the right, the neck and long hair cascade along the left shoulder, and a serene expression is captured in the lines. The nose echoes classical Greek features, while the lips and eyes are closed. The draped garment catches the wind, enhancing the dynamic quality of the composition. The sculpture conveys peace, melancholy, and contemplative beauty. Its presence, along with the plant motifs, evokes a quiet, poignant mood within the modernist-inspired design, and it continues to invite reflection on memory and devotion.
[Citation: regional art history and architectural analysis of Valencian funerary spaces, attributed to multiple local workshops and known architects]