The City Council of Antequera will soon begin the comprehensive restoration of the Chapel of the White Cross, an intervention lasting four months that could uncover hidden paintings beneath the current layers.
The Chapel of the White Cross in Antequera will undergo a comprehensive restoration that the City Council will soon commence, lasting approximately four months. The work, as reported by Diario Sur, will allow for intervention on the painted surfaces and the most deteriorated brick elements.
Preliminary excavations have already detected signs of possible pictorial decoration on lime beneath the overlaid layers. The Councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage, José Medina Galeote, explained that it will be during the restoration that the extent can be studied and the possibilities for recovering the historical image of the monument can be determined.
"It will be during the restoration that the extent can be studied and the possibilities for recovering the historical image of the monument can be determined"
To carry out the work, it will be necessary to install scaffolding around the structure, from which specialists can progressively address the recovery of its various elements. The project includes repairing and replacing the deteriorated brick areas and working on a façade that is one of the most recognisable elements of this part of the city.
The City Council will undertake the work entirely with resources from the Historical Heritage Area, including specialised personnel, materials, and funding. The mayor, Manolo Barón, described the restoration as a long-awaited action and defended the need to intervene on those heritage elements that are part of the city's daily life.
The Chapel of the White Cross has been part of the urban landscape of Antequera since the 18th century. Municipal documentation places its construction around 1774 and likely attributes it to the builder Martín de Bogas. Of very late Baroque style and popular character, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Help and also had a function related to the city's religiosity, serving as a stopping point in the Good Friday procession.
The monument is located on Cruz Blanca Street, at one of the accesses to the historic centre and in close proximity to the churches of the Holy Trinity and San Pedro. The municipal intention is to use the intervention not only to ensure its conservation but also to restore prominence to a piece that has been integrated into the streets of Antequera for over two centuries.
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