The marine cemetery of Bonifacio: solemn and with a mantle of silence

In Bonifacio, just outside the town, there is a long white wall. The only opening is flanked by columns and the lintel is vaguely neo-classic style. The buildings on the background seem to be cottages. Indeed, these are tombs and funerary chapels. And Cimetière marin stands out on the lintel. Because this is the marine cemetery of Bonifacio.

By definition, when you say “cemetery” the first things that come to your mind are the dead and afterlife. And you might ask: why visit? Yet, those who went here were surprised to find that this is a particularly pleasant place. A place that seems to have absolutely nothing macabre.

The Cimetière marin rises in a position overlooking the sea, caressed by the breeze coming from the Strait of Bonifacio. The chapels seem really cottages. Cottages surrounded by an unreal silence, broken only by the sound of the waves. A solemn, and at the same time simple, place.

The best time of the day to visit it? Well, you have to be brave enough to enter in a marine cemetery when the sun is setting behind the horizon, the shadows get longer, and the colors of the sky are red and dark blue.

Usually, the marine cemetery remains outside the “traditional routes” with the things to see in Bonifacio. But, if you like special places, and especially if you are not superstitious, the Cimetière marin will give you an unforgettable view.

Image source: “Bonifacio entrée cimetière marin” di xtra – https://www.flickr.com/photos/xtra/207994707/. Con licenza CC BY-SA 2.0 tramite Wikimedia Commons