The Ministry of Culture, through the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain (IPCE), concludes the emergency works carried out in the Church and Sacristy of the Monastery of Santa María La Real in Nájera (La Rioja), approved last June by the Council of Ministers. The main objective of the intervention, which has involved an investment of 1,137,156 euros, has been to ensure the tightness of the church and sacristy of the monastic complex to control the internal humidity conditions.
The project, within the framework of the National Plan of Abbeys, Monasteries and Convents coordinated by the IPCE, has been executed by the company Alfaro Constructions and Works within 15 months.
The widespread presence of termites in the monument, which was favored by this humidity, urgently caused the execution of the works, since they posed a serious risk both for the wooden construction elements and for the movable goods of high artistic and historical value.
For the development of the intervention and to guarantee the security of the whole, the works have focused on the following strategic lines of work: palliating the humidity by infiltration on the roofs of the sacristy and the church, including the bell tower and the cloister; the humidity by leakage of the sanitation network, mainly in the feet of the church; the humidity by capillary, trying to minimize the presence of groundwater from aquifers or from the side of the hill; and the humidity by condensation, mainly in the sacristy before the lack of ventilation of its enclosures.
In addition, in order to guarantee structural security, work has been carried out on the consolidation of affected constructive elements in vaults, walls and pillars, and the stability and the most unique elements of the facade and the stained glass windows have been recovered.
In addition, other actions have been carried out such as the replacement of sandstone tiles of the church’s floor to contribute to the safety of the tour by visitors and the placement of six new peanas with explanatory panels, which put the church in value from the historical and artistic point of view.
The intervention contributes to highlight a historical complex that today is the headquarters of the School of Historical Heritage of Nájera and the cradle of the training of specialists in the field of protection, restoration, conservation and management of cultural heritage.