| Interior
of the chapel. Photo by Bob Mrotek in 2004. Note the three short
pillars in front of the altar. These correspond with the three
columns in Thresher’s photograph. The pillar that marks
the site where Maximilian was shot is the one on the right and
it bears his crest. Note the cross above the altar. The wood
of this cross was taken from the ship "Novara" which
is the ship that brought him to Mexico and is also the same
ship that bore his dead body back home again. |
|
Photo
of statue of Benito Juarez on top of Cerro de las Campanas.
Photo by Bob Mrotek in 2004. The statue was erected by order
of Mexican President Gustav Diaz Ordaz in 1967, exactly 100
years after Benito Juarez ordered Maximilian to be executed.
There is an inscription at the base which reads, "Entre
los individuales como entre las naciones el respeto al derecho
ajeno es la paz." Translation: Among individuals as among
nations the respect for the rights of others is the peace." |
|
And
last but not least a photo of the statue of General Mariano
Escobedo, the man to whom Maximilian surrendered his sword at
about the same spot several weeks before he was executed. Photo
by Bob Mrotek in 2004. It is almost as if Escobedo’s statue
was placed there to guard Cerro de las Campanas against the
return of Maximilian’s ghost like the angel with the flaming
sword that the Lord posted at the entrance to the Garden of
Eden. With Benito Juarez standing guard atop the hill and general
Escobedo out front I don’t think there is much of a chance
that Maximilian will return. |
