30/04/2006
30/04/06 The restoration
project for the Santa Maria Cathedral in Vitoria-Gasteiz continues to
expand its international horizons. In addition to the recognition
received in numerous countries there is now open collaboration with
various academic institutions and schools in Brazil. This relationship
is a consequence of the Santa Maria Cathedral Foundation´s
participation in the “International Cultural Meeting with
Spain” held in the Brazilian city of Niterói.
The restoration of the Old Cathedral was the international project
chosen at the closing session of the Restoration and Cultural Heritage
Seminar, organised by the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at
the Rio de Janeiro Federal University. The principal, Professor Nireu
Calvacanti, declared his intention to sign a collaboration agreement
enabling students to participate in the project in the near future.
Sonia Nogueira, coordinator of the “Manguinhos School
Workshop” project in Rio de Janeiro expressed a similar
desire. Consequently, Brazilian universities will join the open
collaboration along with other universities from Italy, Portugal,
Puerto Rico, Miami…
The importance of the “International Cultural Meeting with
Spain”, which took place between 7 April and 1 May, is
corroborated by the organisation of more than 200 events
–conferences, exhibitions, concerts, theatre
productions…– in which the various Spanish regions
have presented their Art, Culture, Music, Traditions,…
Niterói, a city close to Rio de Janeiro, offers all of its
inhabitants access to culture, and has been a pioneer in the
organisation of large international cultural meetings.
Participants at the Restoration and Cultural Heritage Seminar received
first-hand knowledge of both the research and architectural restoration
and management aspects making the Santa Maria Cathedral project unique.
The participants, which included Brazilian Government authorities,
architects, academics, teachers and students, showed particular
interest in the way in which the restoration of a Gothic cathedral has
become an “architectural, tourist and cultural reference all
over the world”.
The interest of Latin American countries in the restoration method used
for the Santa Maria Cathedral and in its financial, cultural and social
profitability was confirmed at the recent Latin American Summit. The
summit established the possibility of cancelling the external debt of
those countries investing in the restoration of their cultural
heritage. At this meeting, the Spanish Department of Education
presented the case of the Santa Maria Cathedral as a model which is
generating significant profitability in various fields.
Likewise, the Niteroi Culture Councillor, Marco Gomes, emphasised the
important role that projects like that of the Santa Maria Cathedral
play as a “source of development and economic
resources”. In fact, Gomes himself personally visited
Vitoria-Gasteiz to organise the meeting and chose the Old Cathedral
project because “many aspects may be very useful for the
restoration of Brazil´s cultural heritage”.
Paulo Coelho and
the Santa Maria Cathedral
By way of gratitude, those in charge of the Santa Maria Cathedral
Foundation, as well as setting out the key elements of the project,
showed for the first time an audiovisual presentation in Portuguese
featuring some of the writers which have taken part in
“Encounters with the Cathedral”. In this respect,
the seminar participants were proud that their fellow countryman, the
writer Paulo Coelho, had become one of the ambassadors for the project
thanks to its inclusion in his play “The Zahir”.
The presence of Vitoria-Gasteiz at the Niterói
“International Cultural Meeting” was one of the
most outstanding. This has helped to spread its values of solidarity,
sustainability and high levels of life among the more than 250,000
participants. For almost a month, the capital of Álava was
represented by the Council´s Tourism and Culture departments,
the Jazz Festival organised by Iñaki
Añúa, the music group Ortophonk and the Santa
Maria Cathedral.
In addition to the recognition of universities and professionals in the
field of cultural heritage restoration, there has also been significant
interest from the Brazilian media. This will undoubtedly lead to an
increasing number of Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking visitors to
Vitoria-Gasteiz, something which was confirmed following the
publication of the novel, “The Zahir”.