In the case of the church of San Pedro de la Nave, the Atlantic Romanesque Plan’s team has proposed from the start an integral intervention that could equip the church with a new management model, focused on improving the organization of visits and guaranteeing the appropriate conservation of the building, declared National Monument.
The drafting of the action has been possible thanks to the Work Table created ex profeso, in which the promoters of the plan are present, as well as the different experts and specialists. Amongst all, they have built and shaped the different aspects of the project. The involvement of the city council of Almendra, as well as that of the diocese of Zamora in every work developed until now is also notable.
A reception center that mimics its surroundings:
In today’s visit, the Consejera de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León, Alicia García and the President of the Fundación Iberdrola, Manuel Marín, have been able to see, through the guidance of the Fundación Santa María la Real architect, Jesús Castillo, all well as of other technicians of the entity, the advances in the creation of a visitor reception center in San Pedro de la Nave. By far one of the most noteworthy aspects of the building is the fact that it will be completely integrated and merged with the surroundings of the church. So much so that, by the naked eye, it will be difficult to see it, since the center will be underground so that it doesn’t disturb the vision of the building in its environment.
Once the conditioning of the surroundings and of this space is done, it will work as a visitor reception center, giving order to the access to the church and creating an exhibitive area, where some of the historical elements and pieces that are now kept in the church, can be shown. The work in the surroundings will be completed in collaboration with town council of Almendra, looking to eliminate disharmonious element and reorganizing the parking area through the placement of vegetable pieces.
Lighting and energetic efficiency improvement:
The intervention is also based in guaranteeing an appropriate conservation of the building, given that, even though structurally it is in good conditions, it has some humidity spots, due to the state of the roof. To both avoid and correct these pathologies, the roof will be replaced by one of m¡new execution and the woodworks that need it will be replaced, especially the ones on the exterior of the building, which will be replaced with others in better accordance with the building and that guarantee better ventilation.
The building has been included in the MHS (Monitoring Heritage System), developed by the Fundación Santa María la Real, which in this specific case has been used to prepare the intervention proposals, and it will also facilitate the conservation of the church, through the installation of, amongst others, sensors to register the temperature and relative humidity conditions.
Finally, one the most highly requested aspects by the parish, has been the installation of electric light in the church, which was non existent up to that moment. The lighting of San Pedro de la Nave will be done, as in other interventions from the Atlantic Romanesque, will be done trying to have a minimal visual effect, burying the cabling and guaranteeing the energetic efficiency of the building.
An action marked by the history of the building:
Lastly, it is important to note that the action in San Pedro de la Nave is marked by the building’s own history and importance. We mustn’t forget that the church was built between the VII and VIII centuries in the margins of the Esla river. Its current location in the city of El Campillo, is due to the fact that in 1930, through entities that are now Iberdrola, it was relocated to be protected and avoid that it would become submerged because of the construction of the Ricobayo reservoir.
Saltos del Duero has, since the beginning, done the greatest effort to guarantee that the replacement, stone by stone, would be done with every possible conservation and security effort, up to the point that a large sum for the time, one hundred thousand pesetas, was invested in it, and the Administration Counsil was informed of the operation. It is a jewel of spanish art, whose iconographic program, quality of the reliefs, architectonic configuration of the building, restored during its replacement, and chronological framing are still analysed and discussed amongst specialists. The Iberdrola Historical Archive, by the Ricobayo reservoir, holds and safekeeps an abundant documental heritage accumulated, over more than 100 years, by the societies that have given place to Iberdrola.
