ABSTRACT
The law of 1835 that conceptualized public cemeteries in Portugal intended not only to fulfil public health needs, but also to create spaces for the placement of funerary monuments for a new and growing urban elite. From the beginning, monumentation in Portuguese public cemeteries was given its own space and, over time, it became almost a social obligation. The 20th century saw greater uniformity in monumentation, which is particularly visible in cemeteries or sections of cemeteries opened in the second half of the century. Portuguese cemeteries are easily recognizable, as almost all are based on the models of cemeteries in Lisbon and Oporto. The materials are not the only difference between the Lisbon and Oporto cemeteries. In Lisbon, the first monuments in public cemeteries were profoundly influenced by the British Cemetery, which had been established a few years earlier. The trends in monumentation in Portuguese cemeteries have changed throughout the years.
