Starting this week, fans from all over the world will be able to visit the luxurious mausoleum dedicated to Pele. With artificial grass and a golden coffin, the memory space will pay homage to the “King of Football in the Brazilian city of Santosoutside of São Paulo.
The sepulcher is located on the second floor of the vertical cemetery Ecumenical Necrópole Memorialconsidered the highest in the world, and located less than a kilometer away from the stadium Vila Belmiro. There lie the remains of Skin along with those of his father, his brother and one of his daughters.
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The Brazilian idol was buried in the place on January 3, 2023, five days after dying from advanced colon cancer, and it only opened its doors this Monday. At the moment, only entry to 60 people per daywith prior registration.
as told Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, one of Pelé’s sons, the mausoleum “was made with a lot of love by people who knew him, who lived with him. He has the essence of who he was.”
“We still feel a lot of pain, a lot of nostalgia, but also a lot of pride and joy from all that love and reverence that he continues to receive,” Edson told reporters at the opening of the memorial hall. And he added: “For the family it is one more moment to remember him and another impulse to perpetuate our king.”
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In principle, Pepe Alstut, the owner of the cemetery, hoped that the mausoleum would be placed in the ninth floorso you have a view of the stadium Vila Belmiro del club Santoswhere Skin developed a large part of his football career.
Finally, his family decided to bury him in the second floor for fans to have better access. There, visitors are received by a corridor, decorated with iconic images of the “10”which leads to a 200 m2 room where the soccer star rests.
The room has two golden statues in real size of Pelé, located at his entrance. Upon entering, an atmosphere is observed that evokes a football stadiumwith images of fans in a grandstand, synthetic grass on the ground and a small sky painted on the ceiling.
In the center, a shiny golden coffin becomes the center of attention of the spectators, where the remains of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, nicknamed Pelé, lie.
The coffin is adorned with a cross at the top and two panels on the sides, which recreate the thousandth goal and the remembered celebration of the fist in the air that he made when he scored.
Around the room, in the corners, the only three shirts that the Brazilian idol defendedthat of Santos (1956-1974), that of Brazil and that of the New York Cosmos, where he retired in 1977, end up completing the entire football atmosphere.
“It is a place rich in details, made with all the care to pay the homage that the king deserves,” Paulo Campos, manager of the luxurious Ecumenica cemetery, told AFP.
Pele’s mausoleum as a tourist attraction
The tribute to Pelé is expected to turn the city of Santos into a tourist spot, attracting visitors from all over the world. The number of tourists, sold out tickets for the inauguration, it is 60 people per day, although it may be expanded in the future.
The first to enter the mausoleum were a group of illustrious fansincluding Cosmo Damiao Freitas Cid, founder of the organized supporters of “Peixe”, who was elegantly dressed in white, with black and gold crowns on his shirt.
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“What moved me the most was seeing him surrounded by these photographs, the Brazilian people embracing him, because Pelé is eternal,” said the 68-year-old fan in dialogue with AFP.
Later, the doors were officially opened to the entrance of all visitors to the cemetery, surrounded by nature and with the air of a resort. There is also a old car museumincluding the Mercedes Benz S-280 given by the assembly plant of the German company to ‘O Rei’, in 1974, in commemoration of the thousandth goal of the Brazilian star.
RV CP
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