Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Part ONE: Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia

It may sound dark and depressing (if not a bit strange) to say that part of my trip to Savannah
this time was explicitly to see Bonaventure Cemetery.

But when you see the art there, combined with the gorgeous Spanish-moss draping
the ancient, huge oak trees, you will begin to understand.

It was actually another blogger who tipped me off to tell me to look into going there
when I mentioned I loved cemeteries in general, and that I was planning a trip to Savannah.

So join me today in seeing WHY I am so, so glad I did visit this amazing place.

To me, it was like a beautiful park full of nature and art.



There were SO many beautiful headstones, carved in granite and marble...they were gorgeous.
I especially loved the ones with angels on them:







You'd think you were in an art museum, rather than a cemetery:







Look at the detail in her wings:







There were many life-sized (or bigger) statues for headstones.
We learned that many of the statues were commissioned art pieces and were made to look exactly like the deceased person.  This is a man's headstone, so it isn't the case...but in future blogposts I will show you some:







Statues, carved stone embellishments and oak trees with Spanish moss. Wow:







Look at her angelic face:






Just amazing, detailed, architectural wonders here:







Another gorgeous angel. Can you see the sorrow in her face?:







It was a huge, huge cemetery...all sitting in the midst of sky high majestic moss-lined trees.
We hadn't even seen the oldest headstones yet.
We got there late in the afternoon (due to rain earlier in the day)...
and we only had time to see PART of this wondrous place.

More blogposts will be posted soon of the headstones and beauty here.

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16 comments:

  1. you already know i have been waiting and waiting to see these photos. the first 3 of that angel are spectacular because of the shadows and light. gorgeous. the sorrowful angel has always been a favorite of mine. i hope you got one of Gracie, i am thinking yes, since she is so famous. I am waiting to trap my husband long enough to show him your last post of the moss. you did a super job of capturing it.

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  2. oh excellent...love old cemetaries...esp the statuary...that first one it incredible...the wear makes it look like a reverse glow....

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  3. I am with you! I love old cemeteries and find so much beauty and art there!

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  4. A walk through the cemetery can be relaxing as well as a learning experience. I try to find time to explore the cemetery whenever I visit a new place. You can learn a lot about the area. Some of the headstones and mausoleums are artistic wonders.

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  5. I love those old cemeteries. Was there an old house nearby that looked like the Adams family lived in it or maybe one of those big old southern mansions? They are scary and filled with ghosts..LOL Maybe I watch too much TV?? Ha!

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  6. Lovely pictures (as usual)
    Savannah is one of those places on my list
    :)

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  7. The carvings are indeed beautiful - but so sad.

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  8. OH, thank you for sharing these and letting us know about this place! We didn't know it existed or we'd have visited there many years ago when we were in Savannah. Hopefully we can make the trip this next season while we're working down that way. REMIND ME THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO GO SEE! We love old cemeteries too and that is one thing we're excited about with our job next season...finding old forgotten cemeteries on the refuge!

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  9. Hi Joan, YES---that is a gorgeous cemetery --and oh SO BIG.....

    Great pictures.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. My goodness! The intricacy of those headstones is just amazing! They are beautiful and very large too. I can see why you wanted to visit there! :-)

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  11. I love cemeteries as well Joan, love reading names, dates etc. This one is fascinating, I have never seen such beautiful headstones...Hugs

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  12. What a beautiful cemetery..we don't have anything up north that even compares..great photos:)

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  13. Those grave 'sculptures' are beautifully carved and extremely well maintained, considering their age! Amazing and well done. They are a credit to your countrymen who maintain these cemeteries. - Dave

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  14. I love walking through cemeteries, and these old gravestones are beautiful. The South really knows how honor their dead, and that Spanish moss just adds to the mystique of the cemetery.

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