03/09/2008
Vitoria-Gasteiz, 3rd September 2008.- Representatives of
the Santa María Cathedral Foundation will be talking about the
restoration work carried out on the Cathedral in England and
Switzerland over the course of September. They will be giving
conferences at Salisbury, Winchester and Wells Cathedrals, to the south
west of London, and will also be taking part in a congress in Berne.
With the start of the new academic year following the summer holidays,
the Santa María Cathedral Foundation has embarked on again on its
programme of activities aimed at raising awareness about the Cathedral
outside the capital of Álava. England is the first stop on the tour
taking place this month where Foundation representatives will be
discussing the development of this pioneering renovation project, which
has already captivated the imagination of over 650,000 people through
the guided tours offered.The Managing Director of the Foundation, Juan
Ignacio Lasagabaster, is leading the Group of technicians currently
visiting medieval cathedrals in south west England. The group,
accompanied by members of the Friends of Landazuri Heritage Society,
plan to visit the cathedrals of Salisbury, Winchester and Wells. In
Salisbury, a catedral in the English Gothic style, built between 1220
and 1258 – although the tower and spire were completed in 1330 – they
will give a presentation about the Management Plan for Santa María and
the work to be developed according to the plan. Salisbury is the town
described by Ken Follet in ‘The Pillars of the Earth’.
Furthermore, they will be
meeting with the Dean of Winchester Cathedral, who will accompany them
on their visit. Construction began in 1079 on the site of an old
Cathedral dating back to the year 648 and just like Salisbury, it has
had numerous structural problems as a result of the marshy land on
which it was built. There, they will also give a presentation about the
renovation and restoration work on Santa María.
The key advantage of these
two visits is that the group of technicians will have the chance to
meet with conservation experts from these two English cathedrals and
swap experiences. The delegation from Santa María also aims to find out
about the organisation of the social structure that supports the
conservation of these cathedrals and if these examples could be applied
to Vitoria.
Cathedral builders
congress
From the 16th to
the 20th September, the Cathedral of Santa María will be taking part in
the European Congress of Conservers and Restorers of Cathedrals and
Churches taking place in the Swiss city of Berne. This event is
organised by the European Association of Cathedral and Church
Architects, of which Santa Maria is a member, together with almost all
German cathedrals. The Association also contains a strong
representation of churches and cathedrals from Switzerland, Austria,
Czech Republic, Poland, France and Great Britain.
This group, which meets every year in a different European city, has
invited the Foundation to present a progress report about the
development of the restoration work. There will be a lecture focusing
on the reinforcement process applied to the Cathedral using injections
of lime mortar.