“We have never had a sculpture so weakened by termite attacks.” These are the words of Daniela Morgadinho and Milene Santos and refer to the image of the Lying Christ (or Dead Lord) in the Church of Misericórdia in Estômbar (Lagoa).
These two conservators-restorers are responsible for the difficult work of restoring the sculpture, which, mainly due to the termite attack, “no longer has a hand and is hollow”.
The revelation was made during the presentation of the project “Conservation and restoration of cultural assets of the Church of Misericórdia of Estômbar”, which took place on October 30, at Quinta ARVAD, near that town.
The intervention, promoted by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Estombar, is entirely paid for by the Lagoa City Council, which is investing 77.750 euros in this project to restore its heritage.
Vítor Santos, the provider of the Misericórdia de Estômbar, recalled that the church is “one of the oldest religious buildings in the municipality”, but stressed that it “is facing significant degradation, mainly due to woodworm”. For this reason, he thanked the Lagoa Council, since the Misericórdia, on its own, “would not have the money” for this operation.
Pedro Gago, conservator-restorer of the former Regional Directorate of Culture, now part of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, highlighted “the enormous heritage that the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Estômbar has and that urgently needs to be preserved and conserved”.
After highlighting the “unique heritage” of the Misericórdias, Pedro Gago referred to the good quality of the project: “all the pathologies were mapped, the intervention begins with what is most urgent (the Lying Christ), being staggered over time”.
“There is a whole invisible work of conservation and restoration that is sometimes not noticed, but is so important,” he concluded.
The cultural assets to be restored include its triumphal arch and chancel, which feature 1767th century paintings (14), with the altarpiece in gilded wood, the wooden crucifix with the “radiance of glory”, two rock images representing Our Lady of Solitude and Saint John the Evangelist, possibly originating from the second half of the XNUMXth century, a sculpture of the Dead Lord under the altar, XNUMX flags of the Brotherhood, nine rods of command, among other religious images and liturgical objects and the purging/fumigation of the Church and sacristy.
In fact, the fumigation of the entire space and the entire estate has already been carried out, followed by the application of a biocide.
In all these interventions on wooden parts, in addition to dirt removal or repainting, there is a common denominator: stopping and trying to reverse the damage caused by termites. It is not an easy battle.
Showing photographs of the state in which they found the Reclining Christ, the conservators-restorers emphasize that the sculpture, which is relatively small (about 1.35 meters long), will have to be treated in the studio of their conservation company, in Torres Vedras.
To do this, it was completely covered with Japanese paper, in order to protect the fragile piece eaten away by the animal, and transported in a box specially built to store it safely.
During the restoration phase, “the biggest challenge will be filling in the support, because there are already many gaps,” they explain, adding that “volumetric reconstructions” will have to be made, namely of the missing hand, shoulder and nose of Christ. In other words, where there are missing pieces of the sculpture, these will have to be remade in wood and put back in place, to restore the piece to its original appearance.
«The restoration will not be done here, under the eyes of the public, because we have to take the sculpture to our studio. It is very important to keep making updates, keeping people informed, to manage their expectations».
In the case of the remaining pieces – main altar, sacristy furniture, the fourteen flags and the two smaller images – their recovery will be carried out in situ, on site.
The Brotherhood's flags were used in the Senhor dos Passos procession, "but they have never been removed since 2015", explained Ana Rita Monteiro and Ana Carvalho, the other two conservators-restorers in charge of these pieces.
The double-sided flags are from the 14th century and are oil paintings representing the 16 works of mercy. A 2003th flag had already been modified in XNUMX by the Gulbenkian Foundation.
Among the pathologies found, the highlights are the great wear and tear on the canvases, the fact that three of the flags are no longer the original ones, superficial dirt, oxidation of the paint, which has become very dark, some gaps (tears, for example), and, once again, attack by woodworms, in this case, on the support grids, which will have to be replaced.
The Conservation and Restoration works of the Movable and Integrated Heritage of the Church of Misericórdia of Estômbar began last October and should continue for a year, until October 2025.
Meanwhile, to keep the population up to date with the progress of the work, “during the year 2025, there will be more moments of public presentation of the results”, announced Ana Martins, Councillor for Culture at Lagoa City Council.
Lagoa turns its attention to heritage«At the heart of our cultural strategy for the municipality is the Casa da Cidadania, which is a different kind of museum», said Luís Encarnação, Mayor of Lagoa, at the public presentation of the safeguarding projects “Study and characterization of the heritage and archaeological heritage of Ilhéu do Rosário” and “Conservation and restoration of cultural assets of the Igreja da Misericórdia de Estômbar”. From the Casa da Cidadania (already under construction, in the old Town Hall building), «a museum and cultural itinerary will emerge, reflecting Lagoa’s identity», added the mayor. With regard to religious heritage, Luís Encarnação recalled the investment made by the municipality in the restoration of the organ of the Igreja Matriz de Lagoa, which was recently became part of the Algarve Organ Festival.
“It was a piece that had been forgotten and abandoned, despite being a unique instrument, made in Italy,” he recalled.
In addition to the ongoing work on the Church of Misericórdia in Estômbar, the main church in this town, the only national monument in the municipality of Lagoa, has also undergone conservation, followed by, “soon, the Chapel of Santo António, in Mexilhoeira da Carregação”, revealed the mayor.
“It is up to the Municipality of Lagoa, within the scope of its powers and competences, to ensure the preservation and recovery of cultural heritage, and that is what we will do, once again. We are very proud of our past, our culture and heritage and we want to perpetuate it over time, making it known to the younger generations”, stated Luís Encarnação, Mayor of Lagoa.
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