Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)

The cemetery is a cultural landscape that represents themes of great relevance to interpret the structure of a society, roles, and hierarchies, as a reflection of its social life. The cemetery gathers a whole symbolic universe where local social histories are represented, beyond the history of art a...

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Main Authors: Gabriel López-Martínez, Klaus Schriewer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Heritage
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/1/7
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author Gabriel López-Martínez
Klaus Schriewer
author_facet Gabriel López-Martínez
Klaus Schriewer
author_sort Gabriel López-Martínez
collection DOAJ
description The cemetery is a cultural landscape that represents themes of great relevance to interpret the structure of a society, roles, and hierarchies, as a reflection of its social life. The cemetery gathers a whole symbolic universe where local social histories are represented, beyond the history of art and the architectural aspect. As a heritage element, the cemetery shows us the socio-cultural changes of a territory: religious questioning, changes linked to the family, individualization of contemporary society or broader questions about socio-economic structure. This article presents the experience conducted during the last 6 years in the Cemetery “Nuestro Padre Jesús” in Murcia (Spain), through a collaboration among the Sociedad Murciana de Antropolgía (SOMA), the University of Murcia and the Municipality of Murcia, developing the project “Funerary Cultures”, whose main objective is to promote the heritage, cultural and historical values of the funerary culture. Specifically, as a result of this teaching innovation experience, the six thematic guides to visit the cemetery are presented as an experience of <i>patrimonialization</i> of elements of the cemetery and its consequent selection and consensus exercise to determine what was considered as heritage in the context of the cemetery. Finally, a proposal of a systematic process in the valuation and selection of the material objects in the cemetery is presented; this proposal allows us to establish a debate on what considerations to take into account when considering the relationship between cultural heritage and the cemetery as a cultural landscape in permanent transformation.
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spelling doaj.art-0d83a1c89c92440aad982051c6edbddc2023-11-24T01:24:36ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082022-01-015112914410.3390/heritage5010007Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)Gabriel López-Martínez0Klaus Schriewer1Department of Contemporary Humanities, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainCenter for European Studies (CEEUM), Faculty of Philosophy, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainThe cemetery is a cultural landscape that represents themes of great relevance to interpret the structure of a society, roles, and hierarchies, as a reflection of its social life. The cemetery gathers a whole symbolic universe where local social histories are represented, beyond the history of art and the architectural aspect. As a heritage element, the cemetery shows us the socio-cultural changes of a territory: religious questioning, changes linked to the family, individualization of contemporary society or broader questions about socio-economic structure. This article presents the experience conducted during the last 6 years in the Cemetery “Nuestro Padre Jesús” in Murcia (Spain), through a collaboration among the Sociedad Murciana de Antropolgía (SOMA), the University of Murcia and the Municipality of Murcia, developing the project “Funerary Cultures”, whose main objective is to promote the heritage, cultural and historical values of the funerary culture. Specifically, as a result of this teaching innovation experience, the six thematic guides to visit the cemetery are presented as an experience of <i>patrimonialization</i> of elements of the cemetery and its consequent selection and consensus exercise to determine what was considered as heritage in the context of the cemetery. Finally, a proposal of a systematic process in the valuation and selection of the material objects in the cemetery is presented; this proposal allows us to establish a debate on what considerations to take into account when considering the relationship between cultural heritage and the cemetery as a cultural landscape in permanent transformation.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/1/7cemeterycultural heritagefunerary heritagefunerary cultures
spellingShingle Gabriel López-Martínez
Klaus Schriewer
Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
Heritage
cemetery
cultural heritage
funerary heritage
funerary cultures
title Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
title_full Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
title_fullStr Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
title_full_unstemmed Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
title_short Challenges in the Valorization of the Funerary Heritage; Experiences in the Municipal Cemetery of Murcia (Spain)
title_sort challenges in the valorization of the funerary heritage experiences in the municipal cemetery of murcia spain
topic cemetery
cultural heritage
funerary heritage
funerary cultures
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/1/7
work_keys_str_mv AT gabriellopezmartinez challengesinthevalorizationofthefuneraryheritageexperiencesinthemunicipalcemeteryofmurciaspain
AT klausschriewer challengesinthevalorizationofthefuneraryheritageexperiencesinthemunicipalcemeteryofmurciaspain