25 years after its construction, the cemetery has not yet been inaugurated The vegetation grows through the 14 granite cubes that house some niches without dead The City Council does not rule out building a columbarium due to the interest of foreigners in throwing ashes thereAt Cape Fisterra (A Coruña) several granite cubes merge with nature. These structures are located in a privileged location, with VIP views of the sea. They are part of a cemetery built 25 years ago. A graveyard with no dead that was never opened and is now an attraction for pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. Only two kilometers separate the traditional cemetery of the church of Santa María das Areas from this unique construction. A project that was approved by the plenary session of the Fisterra City Council in 1997 and designed by the award-winning architect César Portela in a dream setting. This necropolis, with an avant-garde design, was far from the traditional cemeteries surrounded by walls and the usual crosses. 14 granite cubes, which house the niches inside, were built on various paths located by the sea. “When I designed and built the Fisterra Cemetery, the first thing I wanted was to offer the dead the rest they deserve in a sublime place where architecture would be able to merge positively with nature, just as they have done in that same place. place, always, the earth, the sea and the sky”, explains the architect on his website. However, today, a quarter of a century later, there is not a single dead person buried in these niches. A place of pilgrimage for touristsThis cemetery has not fulfilled its mortuary function but has become a place of visit for many tourists. Especially for the pilgrims who walk towards the Fisterra lighthouse to complete the Jacobean route. That it is a cemetery is indicated on a sign, but many pilgrims are surprised to see it. Some do not know it and others, who have read about the history of this place, stop by to visit it and take pictures in a magical place. However, political laziness has caused the undergrowth to take over what was going to be the cemetery with the best views in the world. Currently, the first three blocks, which were to be used as a funeral home, chapel and autopsy room, are covered with vegetation. Buckets with niches, with weeds around them. NIUS It cost more than 300,000 euros and the only thing missing is electricity and water. Valentín Castrege, from the Popular Party, was the mayor of Fisterra when this cemetery was built. However, he was never able to inaugurate it. He died suddenly in 2002. Then the popular councilor José Manuel Traba Fernández assumed the mayor’s office. However, with him the cemetery was not finished and it was not put into operation. In 2015, the socialist candidate José Marcote managed to reach the mayor’s office with the support of the BNG. Then the idea of giving use to a cemetery that at the time cost more than 300,000 euros was taken up again. However, despite the fact that the only thing missing is water and electricity supplies, the project, for now, remains paralyzed. “At first there were budget problems to finish off the work, but they could have been solved like any other work. The works must be finished. If there is a budget problem, what you have to do is fix it and work it out,” says Marcote. The mayor says that the neighbors did not like the new cemetery at that time. They considered that it was too far from the urban center and to this was added the reticence of being a too modern necropolis, which collided with the most deeply rooted traditions. That meant that there was no interest in finishing it. A place where tourists go to throw ashes This cemetery, which many residents of Fisterra reject, does generate interest in foreigners to throw the ashes of their loved ones. The fact of being at the end of the world makes it an ideal place for the ritual. Tourists walking along the paths next to the niches. NIUSA Given the large number of requests, Marcote assures that the city council is working on a new municipal ordinance to open the Portela cemetery as a columbarium, in which people can deposit their ashes. “As throwing the ashes in any way is not allowed, this may be one of the alternatives,” adds the mayor, who points out that many pilgrims decide to illegally spread their ashes around the place. In fact, hidden in one of the last blocks, lies a small purple urn. It has the name of Brigitte, who died in 2021. Although it is not yet in operation, the César Portela cemetery could already have its first tenant, a foreigner who, with her death, has given a little more life to a place relegated to abandonment .