Cemitério Municipal de Cravinhos

Cravinhos (São Paulo – SP)

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In the late 19th century, the economy of Paraty, Barra Mansa, Rezende and other cities in the region that is currently the state of Rio de Janeiro was affected by the decline in coffee farming after planters heard rumors about the existence of fertile land in the state of São Paulo that was most suitable for coffee plantations. The news stirred interest among members of the Pereira Barreto family, an established clan of coffee growers, who traveled in a caravan to the western part of that state, where the villages of Cravinhos, Ribeirão Preto and Bonfim Paulista had been founded.

The members of the reconnaissance party were so enthusiastic over what they found, that they decided to settle in the region. As a consequence of the ensuing economic development, soon the old villages turned into thriving towns. Thus, the Pereira Barreto family founded the town of Cravinhos circa 1876. In those days, the newly constructed railroad — Companhia Mogiana de Estrada de Ferro — provided the necessary means for hauling coffee beans to the port of Santos. Today, sugar cane has replaced coffee plantations and the city of Cravinhos still holds a place of distinction in the economy of the state of São Paulo.

Timeline:

1872 – The brothers Pereira Barreto settled in the Fazenda Cravinhos, a farming estate that comprised 4,800 acres of first-rate, ultra-rich dark purple-brown soil. They bought the property for 600,000 réis. Over time thanks to the work of about 60 African-Brazilian slaves they built buildings and roads that provided access to large amounts of settlers that flocked to the region;
1876 – Foundation of the town of Cravinhos (Law n. 27/25 of 9 October 1875);
1881 – Arrival of engineer Santos Lopes to Cravinhos with the special mission of allocating the railroad to be built by Companhia Mogiana de Estradas de Ferro;
1883 – Among applause, laughter, surprised reactions and merriment, the population of Cravinhos heard the strident whistle of the first locomotive to reach the region and that would connect the town with the city of São Paulo, via Campinas;
1886 – COther families relocated in the area that contributed to the consolidation of Cravinhos as a prosperous town: Feliciano Dias da Costa, Domiciliano Fagundes and Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim (himself the founder of the nearby town of Bonfim Paulista);
1888 – Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim built the first church of Cravinhos, which was dedicated to Saint Benedict;
1892 – Inauguration of the Cravinhos Municipal Cemetery built on land donated by Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim;
1897– The president of the state of São Paulo, Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, grants city status to Cravinhos.

The Cravinhos Municipal Cemetery is situated at a distance from the downtown district, in a working-class neighborhood near the José Fregonezi road, leading to Anhanguera highway. The layout design of this graveyard follows the standard grid pattern. It is clear to the visitor that since its foundation the cemetery has been expanded and its entrance, renovated with the installation of a new portal featuring a simple and modern façade.

The distinguished personalities buried at the Cravinhos Municipal Cemetery include Antônio de Azevedo Sousa, Col. João Evangelista Nogueira, João Silvério de Oliveira, Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim, and José Nogueira Terra, as well as members of the families Fracon, Ruggiero, Rahme, Pagano and Oliveira Moreira. Many of these people were engaged in coffee farming, sugar-cane plantations and in local retail trade.

Both the cemeteries of Cravinhos and of Bonfim Paulista were built on land donated by Portuguese-born landowner Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim (1849 – 1898, Cravinhos) who became one of the most successful coffee planters in the region. In Cravinhos alone, he owned five coffee farms: Bonfim, Santa Cruz, Sapecado, Santa Luzia and Liberdade (Martins, 1989). At the cemetery, the gravemarkers built in the late 19th century and early 20th century are decorated with Christian symbols and images of angels and saints. At the heyday of the coffee boom, the chapel mausoleums of eclectic design were popular among the wealthy families. Currently the cemetery also comprises contemporary gravemarkers built with brown or black granite and decorated with bronze statues of saints. Both the vernacular and the artistically decorated tombs contribute toward our understanding of the historical meaning of the memory of those individuals who helped making the town of Cravinhos into what it is today.

TWIN TOMBS, 20th century. Simplicity is the first characterizing feature of these twin tombs built with brick and lime forming irregular textures and topped with delicate crosses.

DIVINE HOLY DIVINE, 20th century. In the decoration of this gravemarker the marbleworkers used white and grey marbles. The elaborate handcrafting of the images representing the Divine Holy Spirit (dove) and the child angel strewing memorial flowers is particularly noteworthy.

FUNERARY URN, 19th century. This gravemarker was built with ordinary construction materials such as brick and lime. The creative decorative shapes of the urn installed on top the tomb are particularly noteworthy.

JOINED TWIN TOMBS, 19th century. The unpretentious design of this memorial dedicated to two people is rather unusual: the gravemarkers built side by side share a central common wall. The twin markers boast identical crosses and epitaph inscription on the tombstone.

NEO-GOTHIC CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM, 20th century. This is a fine example of neo-gothic architectural style. Its vertical features are further stressed by the decorated pinnacles, which are set in a way as to apparently shelter and at the same time elevate the image installed atop the J.E. Nogueira family memorial. This gravemarker was created by the marbleworks Marmoraria de A. Fazzi, of Amparo.

NEO-GOTHIC CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM, 20th century. The marbleworks Marmoraria Progresso de Franceschini & Fazzi, of Ribeirão Preto, paid a tribute to the memory of Antônio Azevedo Sousa when it built the most distinguished mausoleum in the cemetery. The main features of this gravemarker are monumentality and verticality. Its design follows the postulates of neo-gothic architectural style, with columns, vaulted arches, crafted tympanums, ornate pinnacles, and a handsome ogival niche.

CHRISTIAN SYMBOL, 20th century. Gravemarkers are ordinarily built facing the cemetery lanes. In this tomb of vernacular architectural style finished with unadorned tombstone the cross is uniquely installed at what would be the back of the gravemarker.

ORNAMENTAL CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM, 20th century. The construction of the Saint Rita mausoleum of the João Silvério de Oliveira family was entrusted to the marbleworks Marmoraria A. Fazzi, of Amparo. This gravemarker is finished in slabs of white and grey marbles. The door is decorated with round cast-iron ornaments of art nouveau inspiration. On top the memorial, the statue of an angel symbolizes the allegory of fond remembrances.

ARCHAIC MAUSOLEUM, 19th century. This is probably the oldest monument in the cemetery. The ossuary takes up the entire area of the grave plot and sustains the square base of a monumental cross. Here lies Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos Bonfim, the donor of the land to the Cravinhos Municipal Cemetery.

ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS, 20th century. Flower decorations in tombs have a special meaning: they demonstrate the love and longing of family and friends for deceased loved ones. Nowadays a wide assortment of artificial flowers, in various colors, is available on the market that is destined for decoration of gravemarkers, from the most modest to the most refined.

MODERN MAUSOLEUM, 20th century. The family of José Cabral de Mello Netto chose black granite for the tombstone that provides the base for a scene from the Stations of the Cross: Christ Fallen. At the head of the gravemarker, a bas-relief carving represents Christ at the Mount of Olives, next to the two crucified thieves.

PYRAMIDAL CHAPEL VENT, 20th century. It appropriates the pyramid, a copy of Egyptian funerary monuments. In this way, we look for an “aura” of mystery and grandeur that architecture symbolizes, as well as its progressive meaning.

ALLEGORY OF A FOND REMEMBRANCE, 20th century. The angel with a sad and serene facial expression strews flowers on the tombstone. The contrast between the statue in Carrara marble with the cross and the columns of unpolished granite deserves special mention.

ECLECTIC CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM, 20th century. This is the memorial gravemarker of the Grazina family. The chapel mausoleum is richly decorated with Christian symbols that include flower wreath, cross, palm leaf and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. The design of the pillars topped with Ionic capitols reveals the influence of classical art.

RELIGIOUS IMAGES, 20th century. Different statues of saints produced in series by local marbleworkers are installed at the head of this gravemarker. They show the importance that the family of the deceased places in invoking saints to protect the souls of their loved ones.

Martins, Roberto Vasconcelos. Statement [Set 1989]. Entrevistadora: Maria Elizia Borges, Ribeirão Preto, 1989.
BORGES, Maria Elizia. Arte funerária no Brasil (1890-1930) ofício de marmoristas italianos de Ribeirão Preto = Funerary Art in Brazil (1890-1930): Italian marble carver craft in Ribeiro Preto. Belo Horizonte: editora C/ Arte, 2002.

Sites:

//www.cravinhos.com.br/index.asp (Accessed on September 12, 2005).
//www.citybrazil.com.br/sp/cravinhos/ (Accessed on September 12, 2005).
//www.estacoesferroviarias.com.br/c/cravinhos.html (Accessed on September 12, 2005).

Credits:

Project coordination and research: M Elizia Borges.
Website design: Catu Design, 2008.
Researcher: Adriana M. Gianvechio Carvalho – CNPq.
Photography: Maria Elizia Borges and César Mulati

Contact:

maelizia@terra.com.br
Cemitério Municipal de Cravinhos. Avenida Pedro Amoroso c/ Rua Vladimir Chaves
Phone: +55 (16) 3951-9900