Sunday, May 20, 2012

Cemeteries and Romanza

On the third Saturday of each month the two old cemeteries in town are open to the public for a few hours.  I love the really old ones.  So much history.  First we entered the Tolomato Cemetery.



 We chose the self-guided tour.  This one is the oldest planned cemetery in Florida State that the burials in the Spanish Period as far back as 1565.  The last burials are in 1884.  They were ceased in the city due to health reasons. Bishop Augustin Verot was the first Bishop in St. Augustine.  This was his grave and monument.



Many of the graves are surrounded by wrought iron fences.  Some say it is to keep demons out.



Some were simply surrounded by stone or coquina walls.  But most were very hard to read due to the weather in the area and type of stones used.


The cemetery is currently the property of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine.

Next we went to the Huguenot Cemetery..It is territorial Florida's first Protestant Cemetery.



The said thing in this cemetery seemed to be infants and very young people.  By young I mean in their early 20's the the time of death.  Yellow Fever and Consumption was the cause of death for most.  There were a few with the wrought iron fences and some with stones around the grave, such as this one made of marble.




Since it was also Romanza week there was a parade.  First we went to lunch at the Local Heros Cafe.  This was in the courtyard.  Amusing.  A bear of beer cans.



The parade was very small.







The Tea Party was there with their mascot pooch with a Nobama sticker.




And of course there were the Flamenco Dancers.







And so came an end to another gorgeous day.  Tomorrows forecast....beautiful.

Patti and Bill  :-)



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