Campo Santo de Perpignan, Medieval cloister cemetery in Perpignan, France
Campo Santo de Perpignan is a medieval cloister cemetery featuring four galleries each extending about 54 meters, supported by columns carved with gothic details. The structure surrounds a central courtyard and contains an underground ossuary hidden beneath the ground level.
The cemetery was built in the early 14th century near the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and served as a burial ground for Perpignan's wealthier residents for several centuries. It received official protection as a historical monument in 1910.
The burial spaces here display coats of arms belonging to important families from Perpignan, showing how social rank determined where people were laid to rest. You can still see these family emblems carved into the stone walls and monuments.
This site is normally open Tuesday through Sunday, with seasonal timing variations between winter hours of 11:00-17:30 and summer hours of 10:30-18:30. It's worth checking the exact schedule before your visit, especially if you are traveling in shoulder seasons.
This is the only surviving cloister cemetery in all of France, and it holds an underground bone chamber that dates back to 1321. This hidden ossuary was created to expand burial space below ground over time and was kept from public view for centuries.
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