The delegate of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, Marta Rivera de la Cruz, presented this morning a new edition of the ‘Open for Restoration’ program, an initiative of free guided tours to cultural assets in the process of restoration. In 2025, the protagonist will be the facade of the former hospice of Ave María and San Fernando, now the headquarters of the Museum of History of Madrid, whose conservation and restoration will have a municipal investment of 206,000 euros and will end next November.
From May 17 to September 28, a total of 426 visits will be held, allowing more than 4,500 people to get up close to the conservation and restoration work being carried out on this icon of Madrid’s Baroque sculpture. Registrations will open tomorrow, Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. through abiertoporestauracion.reservaspatrimonio.es.
During the visits, participants will be able to learn in detail the methodology used in the restoration process, observe directly on the scaffold the result of the work carried out by professionals, and understand the criteria that will guide the intervention.
The facade of the Museum of History, a work by Pedro de Ribera, is mainly made of granite and, to a lesser extent, dolomite. The differences in the physicochemical properties of these stone materials and their prolonged exposure to altering agents have resulted in different degrees of degradation. In addition, the successive interventions carried out throughout the 20th century have conditioned the current state of conservation.
‘Open for Restoration’ is not only a project for disseminating heritage but also an exercise in preventive conservation that seeks to involve citizens in the protection of the city’s cultural legacy. The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Urban Landscape of the Madrid City Council thus advocates for an open, transparent, and didactic restoration. /
