The Atlantic Romanesque Intervention Plan team has completed the restoration works of movable property in the church of Santa Marina in Sejas de Sanabria (Zamora). The restoration activities focused on the high altar, a seventeenth century piece of carved wood, gilded and polychrome prechurrigueresco style.
Treatment:
After performing the studies and tests, the intervention was carried out in situ and consisted of two parts: the conservation treatment and then subsequent restoration. Regarding the former, the main objective has been to restore structural stability to each of the elements of the altarpiece. To achieve this, an anti-xilophagus treatment was carried out, the wooden support was strengthened, parts from the supports in need of reconstruction were built, fragments were reattached, an anticorrosive treatment was applied, and the polychrome layers were reapplied. .
As regards to the restoration treatments, they generally consist of the removal of oxidized varnishes, the cleaning of surface dust, the leveling and reintegration of color, the strengthening and reintegration of the wooden support and the protection of the painted images.
Thanks to all this, the altarpiece, of a classic cut, has regained its original poise. It should be remembered that this is a piece organized into three horizontal tiers and three vertical ones. It consists of several round polychrome carved images. Specifically, the central niche houses the image of the patron Saint Marina, San Juan Bautista to her right and San Antonio to her left and at the bottom, there are two parent-child scenes: San Joaquin with the young Virgin and St. Joseph with baby Jesus.
Other actions
In Sejas de Sanabria the intervention in the building will be completed. It focuses primarily on the application of new technologies through the Heritage Monitoring System (MHS), developed by the Santa María la Real Foundation. The project will allow for the installation of different types of sensors, which serve, among other things, to ensure the preventive conservation of the building. On the other hand, it also provides the opportunity for the renewal of the lighting system of the temple in order to minimize the visual impact of the installation, ensure their safety, contribute to saving energy and enable the creation of different ambiences.
Finally, it is important to remember that the intervention in Sejas de Sanabria is not the only one that promoters of Atlantic Romanesque Plan, ie the Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous Government of Castile and León, Iberdrola Foundation and the Government of Portugal, carried out this year. In the province of Zamora, for example, the second phase of the intervention in the church of San Martín de Castañeda is already under way.
