Paco Park, Cemetery and park in Paco district, Manila, Philippines
Paco Park is a round garden with cemetery elements in the Paco district of Manila, enclosed by thick adobe walls lined with walking paths. The inner walls house marble crypts with carved names, while the central garden area offers palms and trees for visitors to linger.
The site emerged in 1820 as a burial ground for Spanish families, before it was expanded two years later following a cholera epidemic. Today the walls recall the time when Manila was under Spanish colonial rule and the city moved its dead outside.
The name comes from Saint Pancratius, whose chapel on the grounds welcomes visitors with its simple white facade and serves regularly for musical events. Today families and couples walk the shaded paths, where they encounter marble plaques with old family names set into the inner walls.
The walk around the pathways leads visitors along the burial walls and through the inner garden, where shade from trees is welcome on hot days. The chapel usually stands open for a look inside, while the paths remain accessible and level.
After his execution the national hero was buried here under the reversed initials RPJ to make it harder for Spanish authorities to search. The entrance to the site still shows the original iron gate from colonial times.
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