At the beginning of this year, the exterior renovation of the dome of the Escuelas P\u00edas church in Valencia was completed. This works was financed by the Spanish government through the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, which authorised an allocation of 846,000 euros from the general state budget.<\/p>\n
The works, which were subsidised by the province of Betania, had been pending for several years and were awaiting funding that the Escuelas P\u00edas were unable to raise. During these years, the condition of the building continued to deteriorate and cracks appeared which, although they did not jeopardise the stability of the structure, still needed to be repaired.<\/p>\n
The intervention in this first phase of the general restoration project concerned the outside of the dome and consisted of consolidating the structure, repairing the blue tile cladding and restoring the lantern, which had been sealed a few years ago to prevent leaks. On the outside, the thousands of tiles covering the dome were replaced or repaired one by one and the existing cracks were closed. For this work, spectacular scaffolding was erected to cover the entire structure, with the added difficulty of not being able to lean on the building itself so as not to cause any damage.<\/p>\n
Inside, the restoration work on the lantern, with surprising artistic discoveries, and on the internal ribs of the rotunda, which had been badly damaged by damp and the passage of time, is very impressive. During this work inside, it turned out that the damage was more extensive than expected, so the Ministry was asked to extend its help and intervention. Thank you to the negotiations that the technicians and staff of Escuelas P\u00edas had with the Ministry, it was possible to obtain \u20ac400,000 for this second phase, in addition to the initial funding.<\/p>\n
At the same time as the external scaffolding is being dismantled and once all the administrative procedures for the authorisation of Modification 1 of the project have been completed, work will now begin on this second phase inside the dome. It is planned to work on at least eighteen of the twenty internal ribs, which have cracks in their connection to the dome and are completely separated in some places. As a result, there is a risk of partial collapse at the level of the meeting point with the oculus that forms the base of the lantern, which could detach and fall into the interior of the church, with the corresponding danger. In addition, the obvious chipping of paint in some places is due to areas where the plaster is no longer adhering or is in danger of flaking off.<\/p>\n
The proposed changes include extending the internal scaffolding to cover the entire floor up to the ribs of the shell, restoring its anchoring, repairing the areas where the plaster is at risk of flaking, restoring the internal plaster and applying a new coat of paint.<\/p>\n
If everything goes smoothly, the work should be completed by September this year.<\/p>\n
We trust that Calasanz will continue to oversee this exciting project, which will restore some of the splendour to this architectural jewel. It will shine again to welcome the Piarist family and accompany the school’s students as a reference and reminder of their education.<\/p>\n
The church of the Escuelas P\u00edas in Calle Carniceros 6 in Valencia is the best example of Valencia’s neoclassical architecture from the 18th century. With its dimensions, it is one of the largest domes in Spain and was declared a national monument in 1982.<\/p>\n
The entire restoration of the building was divided into five phases, which cost a total of around 4 million euros. In the second phase, for which there is no deadline or funding yet, the interior restoration of the dome will be carried out. In the third phase, the rest of the church will be restored, in the fourth phase the facades and the bell tower will be restored and in the fifth and final phase the badly damaged and irregular floor will be replaced.<\/p>\n
Betania Communication<\/p>\n
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