Prohibitions for laying plastic flowers at iconic Deià Cemetery in Spain's Mallorca

THE City Council of Deià in Spain’s Mallorca has unanimously approved the prohibition of putting down plastic or cloth flowers on graves in the emblematic Deià Cemetery.
The cemetery is one of the most visited and photographed settings on the island, being the resting place of prestigious artists and intellectuals, including British Poet Robert Graves and the Mallorcan painter Antoni Gelabert. Situated next to the 14th century Sant Joan Baptista church, the cemetery also has mesmerising views over the surrounding landscapes.
Under the new rules, mourners must “respect the local tradition that binds the graves to families” and unlike other graveyards, plots in the cemetery can only be “inherited by testamentary disposition or by disposition of the holder” where there will now be a strict ban in place of them being sold. The regulations also insist that “the construction of new pantheons are prohibited and all graves must continue to maintain the traditional aesthetics.”
Those wishing to pay their respects to their loved ones can now only lay fresh flowers on the graves. This is the first ordinance the cemetery has put in place in its history and has included aspects of local customs and ornamentation that are not normally stated in regulations in other municipalities.