national

Historic church restored

LA PRENSA

Recalled to Life:Restorer Ángela Camargo said she sees the hands of both European masters and indigenous artists in the details of the main altar of San Francisco de la Montaña.1034981

The colonial church of San Francisco de la Montaña, in the town of San Francisco in the province of Veraguas, may soon be added to the list of places that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers historical patrimony.

Construction of the church dates back to the seventeenth century, when missionary Fray Adrián de Santo Tomas reported that "in 1630, I began to make a chapel of cedar wood, a high sacristy. . .baptistery, pulpit, benches. . .all in finely finished wood." The church has been modified considerably over the centuries and is currently under the care of Mexican restorer Ángel Camargo.Lineth Montenegro, the director of Patrimonio Histórico at the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (Inac) said that she is consulting with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) as she prepares to present UNESCO with a formal request to include the church on its list of historical heritage sites. ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites. Montenegro said the process is just beginning and could take months.

Ángela Camargo said she was "thrilled" on hearing that the church might be considered a world heritage site but that many things would have to change before that could happen, beginning with increasing the budget for mainting the building. UNESCO closely follows a country's compliance with its requirements for preserving a site, and the Panamanian government, along with the great majority of Panamanians who possess the financial means to preserve the country's cultural heritage, are famous for neglecting to do so. San Francisco resident Eima de Barrios said the church had been abandoned for years before Camargo began working on it.

Another resident, Vincent Torres, opined that once the church has been restored and opens its doors to the public, tourists will come to San Francisco. "Imagine what might happen at the international level if [the church] is on a list of world heritage sites."

Camargo said she sees the hands of European masters and indigenous artists in the details of pieces in the church. "Each one leaves their mark on the work they do," she commented. So far, she has worked on restoring the main altar, the altars of Las Ánimas, La Pasión, San Antonio, La Purísima, la Virgen del Carmen, and 14 pillars, chandeliers and caryatids, sculpted female figures that serve as architectural supports in place of a column or a pillar. She has yet to work on the altars of the Virgen del Rosario, San José and Spúlpito, the choir and the baptismal chapel.

The historical altarpieces are made of wood, the restorer noted, and decorated with carved pieces painted with extraordinary colors for the time and covered with gold leaf.

Architect Manuel Choi said Panama will have to demonstrate that the church of San Francisco de la Montaña is unique and invaluable as compared to other similar sites throughout the world in order to merit the UNESCO designation. The church and its altarpieces have those qualities, he added.