The Parque del Oeste is home to this small cemetery, the oldest burial place in Madrid still in existence, located between La Rosaleda and the hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida, where the remains of 43 people shot on mount Príncipe Pío, known as the heroes of the 2nd of May 1808, were laid to rest.
It was built in 1796 as a cemetery for the Royal Parish of San Antonio de Padua de la Florida, reserved at the time for employees of this Royal Property. Surrounded by a brick wall built using a construction technique known as Aparejo Toledano, the cemetery has a small chapel with a crypt, reached through a tree-lined avenue flanked by cypress and pine trees, a commemorative column and three tombstones that commemorate the shooting, one of which features a tiled reproduction of Goya’s painting The third of May 1808 in Madrid. In the chapel, there is a simple altar and a staircase leading down to the crypt, inside which are the remains of those who were shot, laid to rest in two lead and zinc drawers.
Although for some time it continued to serve as the final resting place for employees of the royal property known as La Real Posesión de la Florida, the cemetery eventually closed and became an exclusive memorial to the victims of the 2nd of May massacre, cared for and conserved by the Real Congregación de la Buena Dicha, and, from 1840 onwards, by the Milicia Nacional, forerunner of the current Sociedad Filantrópica de Milicianos Nacionales Veteranos (Veterans Organisation), which has been performing these duties since 1917.
In 1931, the cemetery closed to the public. After the Civil War, it was left in great disrepair, and over the years it was gradually renovated, with the current chapel built in 1960. In 1982, a ceramic reproduction of Goya's famous painting marking the shootings of the 2nd of May was installed, together with a living flame, but after being vandalised on several occasions, it was closed again and since then it only opens every year to mark the events of the 2nd of May. The most recent restoration was carried out by architect Antonio Lopera Arazola in early 2008, on the occasion of the bicentennial of 2nd May 1808.
If you wish to visit, you must request an appointment with the Sociedad Filantrópica de Milicianos Nacionales Veteranos by calling 91 365 27 77
