The Atlantic Romanesque Plan’s team has finished the restoration of the roof of San Pedro de la Nave, with the placement of a new ventilation system, which avoids the condensation of humidity in the interior of the church. Currently the team is working on the draining of the perimeter of the building and very soon the replacement of carpetries and the lighting installation will begin, while little by little the design of the visitor reception center is completed.
Avoid the humidity condensation in the interior of the church. This is, without a doubt, the main goal of the ventilation system installed in the newly restored roof of the church of San Pedro de la Nave, in El Campillo, Zamora. As explained by Jesús Castillo, the architect and responsible for the intervention, “The system allows for the entry of air through the eaves and, due to the difference in pression, it goes out through the superior part, generating a continuous air current, which allows for the correct ventilation and, in consequence, improves the structural conservation of the roof of the building”.
The intervention on the roof of San Pedro de la Nave is done within the Atlantic Romanesque Plan, a trans-border collaboration project, promoted by the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fundación Iberdrola, in which the Secretaría de Estado de Portugal, the Fundación Santa María la Real and the dioceses Zamora, Astorga, Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo are also a part.
Efficient lighting system:
After the roof works are completed, the team will continue to drain the perimeter of the building, to correct the humidity problem that arises from the subsoil. At the same time, in the interior of the building the substitution of the carpentries will begin and, for the first time, the church will have a lighting system in accordance with the history of the monument. In this sense, the lighting system will allow for the intensity and power of the light to be adapted to the usage of the building at each moment, and will also guide the visitor’s gaze towards the more highlighted sculptures and architectural elements of the VII century building, thus improving its understanding. All of this while having a minimal visual impact, since the entire installation will remain hidden and getting the maximum energetic efficiency.
Visitor reception center:
On the outside of San Pedro de la Nave, a visitor reception center is almost complete, and in the next few days this space’s image will change immensely, given that all is ready to plant the area that will work both as a vegetal roofing of the center and a gardened area.
One mustn’t forget that one of the main goals of the intervention was the construction of this underground center, that doesn’t compete with the church in image nor volume and that will be used to organize the entrances and to create an exhibitive area where the pieces that are currently in the church can be shown.
Furthermore, the building has been monitored through MHS (Monitoring Heritage System), developed by the Fundación Santa María la Real which, in this case, has been used to control environmental parameters through the installation, amongst others, of hygrometers and luxmeters that have registered the humidity and lighting conditions of the building. The data obtained have been used not only to draw the intervention project, but also to guarantee the appropriate conservation and maintenance of the building.
The intervention in San Pedro de la Nave is influenced by the building’s own history and by the importance of a church declared as National Monument, built between the VII and VIII centuries at the margins of the Esla river. Its current location in El Campillo, Zamora, is due to the fact that in 1930 it was moved stone by stone to protect it and stop it from being underwater due to the construction of the Ricobayo reservoir. Finally, it is important to remember the unforgettable availability of both the ayuntamiento de San Pedro de la Nave-Almendra, as well as the parrish and the neighbors, that have involved themselves since the beginning of the project.
