The municipality of Moya is undertaking an expansion of its municipal cemetery in the town center to prevent imminent overcrowding. The project includes the addition of 80 new niche spaces, which will necessitate the relocation of some skeletal remains to new sites. Concurrently, the consolidation of remains from the same family will be explored to optimize available space.
The intervention will focus on the internal restructuring of the cemetery, particularly in the area near the ravine. New niche modules will be created to extend the facility's capacity, and accessibility will be improved due to the deteriorating condition of the exterior walkway pavement.
The first phase of the works will involve the construction of niche modules in the central part of the walkway. To maintain passage, a pavement extension will be created towards the ravine, forming a viewpoint balcony offering landscape views and reducing slope gradients.
Subsequently, remains will be relocated from the niche module at the head of the walkway to these new central locations. Once this transfer is complete, the second phase will commence, involving the demolition of the niche structure in the upper part of the walkway and the construction of new modules in the space of a disused adjacent storage area.
In the lower section of the cemetery, a new module of 15 niches will be built, attached to an existing structure. The reinforced concrete slab serving as pavement will also be demolished and replaced with paving stones to regularize walkway slopes and improve access.
A significant element of the project will be a corten steel panel, over four meters high and 2.40 meters wide, located on one of the sides. This panel will feature an inscription by the poet Tomás Morales, reading: "Therefore I know how to be sad and at times, strong; and in the middle of my shield will be my illusory faith: the boarding axe that knows of Death and the silver mandolin that awaits Glory…".
The mayor of Moya, Raúl Afonso, stated that the objective is to prevent the cemetery from becoming saturated, although there is still time due to the increase in cremations. The project, funded by the Cabildo with an initial budget of 282,334.99 euros, must be completed within three months of contracting.
The expansion will add approximately 80 new spaces to the current over 2,000. Furthermore, efforts will be made to consolidate scattered family remains, potentially freeing up about twenty additional spaces.
