We are used to seeing museums as closed spaces in which pictorial and sculptural works by different artists are exhibited, but what if the museums were actually outdoors and had tombs and mausoleums as the attraction?
Well, this is the case for two museums that are both cemeteries – better yet, two cemeteries that are both museums; one in Medellín and another in Sonsón, Antioquia. Museums as atypical as the destinations that host them.
Museo De San Pedro Cemetery in Medellín
This Museum Cemetery enjoys the privilege of being the only place in Medellín with that name and is currently declared a Cultural Interest Site of the Nation by the Ministry of Culture.
It is also considered a living open-air museum because it is a space not only for the dead, but also for the living. An experience that is undoubtedly contrasting due to the curiosity triggered in its visitors to become aware of touring a place that collects stories of an important part of famous characters in the history of the city and the country, among which the novelist and poet Jorge Isaacs or the entrepreneurs Alejandro Ángel Escobar and Félix de Bedout Moreno; among others.
But also hundreds of people, once alive – who as they were incanteded – invite us who visit the Cemetery Museo De San Pedro in Medellín to recognize their stories, through colorful and picturesque tombs in which it is inevitable to look away from the photographs, flowers, dedications and even football team emblems that makes us reflect, not only in their own existence, but in that of others.
One of the characteristics that make it more atypical is that, unlike most conventional museums, the pieces exhibited -its tombs and mausoleums- are permanent, therefore they cannot be replaced or even moved.
Guided tours to San Pedro Museum Cemetery
The Museum Cemetery can be toured through guided tours in which you take a trip through the history of the museum to discover the personalities that lie here, the tombs and monuments, and the characterization towards death in our society.
Schedules of the guided tours to the San Pedro Museum Cemetery: http://cementeriosanpedro.org.co/visitas-guiadas/
San José de Sonsón Cemetery Park Museum in Sonsón, Antioquia
Recently certified by the Ministry of Culture through the Museum Strengthening Program, the San José Cemetery Park Museum is today one of the most important tourist and architectural references in this town in the south of Antioquia.
Many stories to tell have the walls of the enigmatic Museo Parque Cementerio San José de Sonsón, but without a doubt one of the most interesting is that it had to be rebuilt due to seismic movements in 1938.
Not to mention, the facade and exterior walls were designed by the Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts, same who designed the Rafael Uribe Uribe Culture Palace and the shopping centre Palacio Nacional.
Páramo de Sonsón, the highlands
In addition to being a town that captivates visitors not only for its museums but also for preserving its Republican style architecture – typical of the Antioquia Colonization – another one of its great tourist attractions is without a doubt, the highlands of Sonsón.
The Páramo, which we are convinced has taken the breath away from lovers of adventure tourism and nature thanks to its unique ecosystem and water sources that host a variety of flora and fauna species of the high Andean Mountains.
Enjoy its more than 8700 hectares with tours such as Morro La Vieja and Morro Las Palomas. Get rewarded with incredible panoramic views that the Páramo de Sonsón offers. An ideal place for trekking reaching 3350 metres in altitude.
Watch a video here.
Visits to museums during the Covid-19 restrictions
President Duque recently announced that Museums and public libraries are part of the sectors in which starting on June 1 will gradually open but carefully monitored by territorial entities.
These places cannot exceed a 30% capacity and the recommendation is to continue accepting the physical distancing measure.
To learn about the country’s entire range of museums, visit the Colombian Museum Information System, SIMCO, visit the following link http://simco.museoscolombianos.gov.co/ Also read, This cemetery is also a museum