The Church of Santos Juanes reaches the United States

Since June 2021, a team from the Institute of Heritage Restoration (IRP) and the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage Department at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has been working every day to restore its ornamental beauty in a project funded by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation and coordinated by the architect Carlos Campos.

The project is currently attracting attention in the United States. And it is doing so thanks to the work of Pilar Bosch Roig, a researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de València. At the invitation of the Spanish embassy in Washington, Pilar Bosch is giving a series of lectures on the latest advances made by the UPV in the restoration and conservation of heritage. And she is focusing mainly on the restoration process of one of the emblems of Valencian heritage due to its monumentality and strategic location in the heart of Valencia, namely Santos Juanes.

The first lecture occurred last Tuesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). And the second, on Friday at the Spanish Embassy in Washington.

In the restoration process, the UPV team is applying different technologies, such as digital image processing, bio-cleaning with bacteria trained in the restoration of works of art, and ultrasound and laser photo-ablation that allow them to act on those parts most affected by the passage of time.

‘In these lectures, we are explaining our work at Santos Juanes, focusing above all on the application of microorganisms for cleaning the murals of the church and xenobiotic materials as an alternative to the traditional cleaning method,’ explains Pilar Bosch.

‘Recovering Memories’ project after the DANA

Pilar Bosch also explains the work they are carrying out within the ‘Recuperar las memorias’ (Recovering memories) project, which aims to improve air quality by diffusing essential oils in contaminated indoor spaces of the cultural heritage affected by the DANA storm that devastated Valencia province last October.

‘Preserving cultural heritage with emerging eco-sustainable technologies is one of the current challenges in the field of conservation and restoration. It is undoubtedly a complex task that requires the collaboration of multidisciplinary teams and the application of emerging technologies. And this is what we are talking about these days in these lectures, which are arousing great interest,’ concludes Pilar Bosch.

The UPV researcher will give the last lectures next Wednesday, 12 March, at Columbia University (New York).