Campo Santo, Protected Catholic cemetery on Sint-Amandsberg hill, Ghent, Belgium.
Campo Santo is a protected Catholic burial ground situated on the natural slope of Sint-Amandsberg hill and houses approximately 131 preserved graves along with mausoleums in its grounds. Stone pathways wind through the cemetery past the chapel dedicated to Saint Amand, creating a structured layout where visitors can move between different sections and observe the varied tomb designs.
Campo Santo opened on 8 December 1847, consecrated by parish priest Jozef van Damme, on a hill where Saint Amandus is said to have preached in the 7th century. The site already held the late-Baroque Sint-Amanduskapel, built in 1720 under bishop Philips Erard van der Noot. Modelled on Paris's Père Lachaise, it became the burial ground of Ghent's Catholic bourgeoisie, with one of the first graves that of Countess Marie de Hemptinne.
The name comes from the Campo Santo dei Teutonici e dei Fiamminghi in Rome, the burial ground beside St. Peter's Basilica, not from Saint Amand. The hill itself was a pilgrimage site where Saint Amand is said to have preached in the 7th century, and the late-Baroque Sint-Amanduskapel of 1720 still stands at the top and is used for cultural activities.
The cemetery lies on a hill rising 19 metres above Sint-Amandsberg, with the late-Baroque Sint-Amanduskapel at the summit. Paths and steps climb the slope, so sturdy shoes help. The Kapelleberg, part of the grounds, has been a protected monument since 1996.
The cemetery was selected in 2006 for the VRT television programme Monumentenstrijd, and with help from the Sint-Janscollege it gathered enough votes to reach the second round, where three monuments per Flemish province competed. Two British Second World War casualties lie among the civilian graves, registered with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as St. Amandsberg Communal Cemetery.
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