The Mirón chapel in Soria, historically white, is now red and white inside. The restoration carried out in recent weeks in one of the most valued religious spaces in the city, of Baroque origin and erected in 1725, has completely changed its appearance. Decorative elements such as the cherubs have also been roughly intervened. Upon seeing the result of the work, this week numerous specialists in improvement or cleaning of historical sites have cried out against what they have described as an “attack” on heritage. The Bishopric of Osma-Soria, promoter of the works, has admitted the poor result and has announced that the church will remain closed until the matter is resolved.
The Soria Heritage association has posted X images of the changes in the finishes on the Internet and has denounced that the intervention “cannot be called restoration”. The Mirón hermitage is not declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC), but it does have protection according to the General Urban Development Plan of Soria. The result of the intervention has been compared in some media and social networks with the one carried out in a church in the town of Borja (Zaragoza) on an ‘Ecce Homo’ in 2012.
A spokesperson for the Soria City Council (PSOE) says that the Bishopric submitted a declaration of responsibility in advance of the intervention, contracted by the Church. The municipal technicians add that “they are preparing a report after carrying out a visit”, the conclusions of which are not yet known. Depending on the result of their study, they could order the developer to “restore the legality” of the chapel and assume the costs that a new intervention may entail.
The localist party Soria ¡Ya!, with three representatives in the Cortes of Castilla y León, has regretted that a few months ago its proposal that the right bank of the Duero River as it passes through the city, where the hermitage is located, be classified as a Site of Cultural Interest was rejected. The initiative was rejected by the Junta de Castilla y León, governed by the PP still with Vox, before they broke the pact. The left side does have that classification, which increases the security of the heritage in the face of episodes like this, but various real estate interests on the other sector have led to the consideration never being extended. The Ministry of Culture, when consulting its spokespeople about what happened, clears up responsibilities: “As it is not a Site of Cultural Interest, the Junta de Castilla y León has no jurisdiction in this regard.”
The Association of Conservators-Restorers of Spain (ACRE) has harshly criticised the action on the hermitage, also calling it an “attack”, in a statement: “We defend the interventions carried out by qualified professionals, the only ones who should intervene in our cultural heritage”. The entity has “asked for explanations” from the General Directorate of Heritage of the Junta de Castilla y León, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, and has insisted that “protected real estate assets need authorisation from the Administration in order to be intervened. The project must be drafted and executed by qualified professionals under technical direction”. ACRE has stressed that the work teams and technical directions must have “multidisciplinary teams to avoid these attacks” and “an inspection that weekly assesses the progress of the work and does not allow disrespectful and invasive alterations” to prevent such striking cases.
The Soria Heritage Association, through one of its members, is demanding the “comprehensive protection of the structure and the decorative programme, with the exterior and interior finishes” that have been damaged by the intervention. “This implies compliance with a series of minimum requirements such as the preparation of a prior study and intervention project that must be authorised by the competent Administration and the exclusive intervention of restoration and conservation professionals”, they state. The association recognises that the walls of churches are not always white, as they have been repainted throughout their history, but in no case are they “restored” in such an intense way as in this example from Soria. “This is a repainting that, as professionals have already warned, is outside the criteria for intervention in assets of heritage interest. Not only because it affects the historical finishes, but because of the questionable result”, the specialists explain.
The Diocese of Osma-Soria has issued a statement stating that the church “promoted an ordinary conservation action in the shrine of Mirón consisting of its interior painting” and requested the relevant permits. The result “was as planned except for the final finish of the angels on the cornices”, one of the areas most criticised for how the cherubs and angels have turned out. Following these failures, “the parish is in talks with the Bishopric and the technical services of the Soria City Council to find an appropriate solution as soon as possible”. In the meantime, and as a result of these works, “the shrine of Mirón will remain closed until further notice”.