Archives: Actividades

Another big project carried out by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation was the restoration of the Church of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir. It is probably the best example of a 15^th century Gothic structure coexisting with 17^th century Baroque decoration in the city of Valencia. The church was built on top of an old Muslim mosque, in an area that is called ‘the first twelve Christian parishes’. In 1981, it was declared National Historic Artistic Monument. The restoration carried out by the Foundation focused on the façades of the Communion Chapel and on the neo-Gothic façade of Plaza de San Nicolás, as well as on the windows of the church. The neo-Gothic façade presented important problems due to dampness caused by water leaks. Additionally, we also had to deal with the deterioration of the decorative elements of the façade. It also showed an important crack caused by the separation of the upper body of the façade and the side wall, which meant there was a real risk of breaking off.

All the restoration works undertaken were not only aimed at recovering the visual aesthetic aspect, but also at preserving the interior paintings, which undoubtedly would have suffered irreparable damage over time. These paintings are of great value and are considered to be a must-see for anyone visiting the historic center of Valencia. As long as the Communion Chapel is concerned, the main problems were found to be the poor state of the beams and other support elements. The poor condition of the carpentry of the chapel and problematic accessibility caused serious ventilation problems in the premises, and seriously affected the paintings, gildings and coatings in general. After a thorough preliminary study of the different and successive layers of paint that had been applied to the façade throughout its history, we discovered a state that was closer to what the façade must have looked like in the 18th century. The defects of the stained glass windows, notably damaged, were restored and repaired at the architectural level.

The renovation of the stained-glass windows also gave us the possibility of improving the ventilation of the temple, which in turn improved and solved the humidity issues that the church had been suffering from.

One of the main actions of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation in 2012 was the restoration of Santa Lucía Chapel and its surroundings. The Brotherhood of Santa Lucía was founded in 1238 in the Cathedral Church of Valencia by James I the Conqueror, although in 1394 it was moved to the current location at Hospital street in Valencia. It is one of the most emblematic buildings in the Valencian capital and the Foundation is very proud of having contributed to make it stand out in all its splendour once again. The Foundation has collaborated in adapting the building’s surroundings and entrances to improve accessibility, while recovering the original ground level. This was achieved by making a new direct side access to the interior of the church, so that it is no longer necessary to go down or up a single step to enter the Chapel. In addition, all the facades have been restored and its structure is white again, which completely changes what it looked like until now.

The main purpose of this action was to stop the building from deteriorating further, but at the same time the functionality of the complex was also improved, restoring the façades of the Chapel. All this was done to improve the patrimonial condition of the temple that had been declared ‘Historic and Artistic Site’ in 1963. Dealing with the high degree of humidity in the temple was also very important. To solve this, the original ground level was recovered and the perimeter was emptied (more than two meters of soil), integrating the site with the surrounding garden.

On 5th February, coinciding with the celebration of one of the patron saints of the Chapel, Santa Águeda (Santa Lucía is the other), the scaffolding was removed and the temple could be admired once again in all its former glory. The president of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation attended the religious ceremony, in the presence of the Archbishop of Valencia, Monsignor Carlos Osoro.