The intervention in San Pedro de la Nave has been determined by the building’s history and its importance. We mustn’t forget that the church, built between the VII and VIII centuries on the margins of the river Esla, has been the declared a National Monument. Its current location, in the city of El Campillo, in Zamora, is due to the fact that in 1930 it was transferred, stone by stone, to be protected and to prevent it from being underwater due to the construction of the Ricobayo reservoir.
The intervention occurs within a trans-border collaboration project for the conservation of cultural heritage, the Atlantic Romanesque Plan, which involves a close collaboration between different entities in Spain and Portugal, specifically, the Consejería de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León, the Secretaría de Estado de Cultura de Portugal, the Fundación Iberdrola, the Fundación Santa María la Real; as well as the Catholic Church of Portugal and the Spanish dioceses of Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Zamora and Astorga.
Monitoring and a new ventilation system:
Even though structurally the temple was in good use conditions, it had some humidity spots, due to the state of the roofs and humidities on the floor originating from the land. To avoid and correct these pathologies, the roof has been restored, incorporating a new ventilation system which, in a natural way, generates and air current, allowing for the correct ventilation and it improves the structural conservation.
The drainage of the perimeter of the building and the replacement of the old carpinteries and glasses on doors and windows for alabaster plaques has also been performed to avoid the humidity problem and improve the church’s ventilation. The church has been monitored the entire time, through the MHS (Monitoring Heritage Systems), developed by the Fundación Santa María la Real, whose data have helped in the drafting of the intervention plan and will be used to control and manage the appropriate conservation and maintenance of the building.
Guiding illumination:
On the other hand, San Pedro de la Nave was lacking an electric installation, since the only illumination in it was the natural light that entered through the arrow slits. In this sense, a new lighting system that allows for the adaptation of the light to the usage of the space at any time and that also guides the visitor’s gaze, facilitating a better understanding of the church has been designed and installed. Following the criteria of the Atlantic Romanesque Plan, the visual impact and the energetic consumption are minimal, given that the electrical installation will be buried and the team has decided on installing 13 bolts that consume little over 90 watts.
Reorganization of the space and new management plan:
The intervention was completed in the last days with an intervention on the surroundings of the church, aimed at reorganizing the spaces and giving the church a new management plan to improve and facilitate the visitor flow, while potentiating the image of such an unique building. This way, one of the main decisions has been the creation of a buried visitor reception center that doesn’t rival in volume or relevance with the San Pedro de la Nave church. The space will be used to order the access to the church; it will also create an exhibitive area to show part of the historical elements and pieces previously stored in the church and will hold a bar and cafeteria space.
The creation of a garden area, the conditioning of a parking space appropriate to the needs of the building and the elimination of dissonant elements that hindered the vision of the monument have been the latest works performed in the surroundings of San Pedro de la Nave and we expect the inauguration to happen soon.
A participative project:
From the beginning of the project, the Atlantic Romanesque Plan’s team has understood that this should be a participative intervention, that should count on the involvement of and the support, not only of the San Pedro de la Nave parish, but also of the Ayuntamiento de San Pedro de la Nave - La Almendra and of the neighbours of El Campillo. From then, a collaboration contract should be signed with the municipality, on which every intervention in the church has been sustained and supported.
