The deformation of the vault of the Church of Santo António, in Lagos, a situation aggravated by the detachment between the vault and the building's façade, and the imminent danger of collapse were at the origin of the closure of that national monument to the public, jointly decided by the City Council and by the Regional Directorate of Culture.
Dália Paulo, regional director of Culture, told the Sul Informação that the decision to close the monument had to do with the “risk to the safety of the people”, but that it is a temporary situation. It remains to be seen how long the XNUMXth century church, known for its rich interior covered in gilded woodwork and tiles, will be closed.
This is because the Câmara de Lagos, through the municipal company Futurlagos, and in partnership with the Regional Directorate of Culture, had already applied for and approved a project to rehabilitate the roof of that church. The project, approved under the PO Algarve 21, had a budget of around 21 thousand euros.
However, the deformation of the vault and the other anomalies detected in the meantime indicate that the intervention will have to be much deeper and, therefore, more expensive. This implies a “financial and physical reprogramming of the project”, which can no longer be limited to what was approved by the Regional Coordination and Development Commission, within the scope of PO Algarve21.
One of the tasks of the team that is dealing with the issue – and which includes representatives from the Câmara de Lagos, Futurlagos and the Regional Directorate of Culture – will be precisely to try to convince the CCDR of the need to reprogram the intervention. “The project that will have to be done now is different from the one approved, because the conditions of the monument have changed”.
For now, and because time is short, "a team of engineering and architecture specialists" went to the site for an assessment visit. Two technicians from the Superior Institute of Engineering of the University of Algarve were at the church yesterday to make a first diagnosis of the situation.
It's just that, as he found the Sul Informação, the University of the Algarve will also be a partner, as it has the technical and human resources for this type of diagnostic work and proposal of solutions.
However, in addition to the closing to the public, a structure was placed inside the church to support the vault. Soon, a temporary roof will also be placed on the building, in order to allow the removal of the roof, to see what is happening with the vault, in other words, which pathologies are affecting it.
Dália Paulo also revealed to our newspaper that, as it is a very important monument, one of the most visited in Lagos and even in the Algarve, the Museum next to it will have information about what is happening with the Church and about the «progress of the intervention and future works. It will be a way for people to be able to follow the works». This information, added the person in charge, "will be changed periodically, whenever there is news."
The decision to close the Church of Santo António to the public was carried out on October 12, while the Dr José Formosinho Municipal Museum, which is next door, remains open without any limitations to the public.
The Church of Santo António (National Monument) is one of the most beautiful in the country. Its interior is decorated in gilded woodwork and the walls are covered with XNUMXth century blue and white tile panels.
The Municipal Museum of Lagos, installed next to the Church of Santo António, preserves important collections of painting, archeology and ethnography from the Algarve, numismatics and sacred art, namely carving, from the XNUMXth century.
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