Cemiterio de Ribadeo

Ribadeo Cemetery is the municipal burial ground of Ribadeo, a Galician town sitting on the estuary of the Eo River, right on the border with Asturias. Opened in 1932, it has served as the town's main cemetery for nearly a century.

Why was a new cemetery needed?

Ribadeo's original cemetery once stood on the spot now occupied by the town's Parador de Turismo, but it eventually became too small for the growing population. The solution came from two brothers, the Morenos Ulloa, members of a family who had made their fortune abroad and returned to their hometown to invest in it. They donated the land for a new cemetery along with 500,000 pesetas, a sum that covered the construction of a chapel, the perimeter wall, and the access road leading to the grounds. This kind of generosity from returning emigrants — who used money earned overseas to fund schools, water systems, street lighting, and cemeteries back home — was a recurring pattern in Ribadeo and the surrounding area between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

Who designed it, and what does it look like?

The project was entrusted to architect Manuel del Busto, and construction wrapped up in 1932, the year the cemetery formally opened. The grounds cover 1.92 hectares. At the heart of the site stands a chapel built in a modernist style, decorated with period stained-glass windows — a detail that sets Ribadeo's cemetery apart from many other Galician cemeteries of the era, where modernist religious architecture of this kind is uncommon.

Who is buried here?

Among those laid to rest in Ribadeo's cemetery is Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, the Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1981 to 1982 and had family ties to the region. His presence gives the cemetery a significance that goes beyond the purely local, drawing visitors interested in modern Spanish political history.

Why is it worth a visit?

Ribadeo Cemetery is more than a burial site — it's a physical record of the town's history, from the decision to build it, through the modernist architecture of its chapel, to the grave of a figure who shaped national politics. Walking its paths reveals how wealth brought back by emigrants translated into local public infrastructure, and the stained-glass chapel stands as a rare example of this architectural style applied to cemetery design in Galicia.

Frequently asked questions

When was Ribadeo Cemetery built? It opened in 1932, after the town's older cemetery had become too small for its growing population.

Who financed its construction? The Moreno Ulloa brothers donated the land and 500,000 pesetas, covering the chapel, the enclosing wall, and the access road.

How large is the cemetery? It covers an area of 1.92 hectares.

Who designed the chapel? The entire complex, including the modernist chapel with its stained-glass windows, was designed by architect Manuel del Busto.

Are any notable people buried there? Yes, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, a former Prime Minister of Spain, is buried in the cemetery.