Cathedral puts its restoration work on view

Palma.—Hundreds of people were witness at the end of last week to the dedicated work that has been undertaken by skilled restorers in Palma cathedral. Representatives of the team explained to their audience the architectural history of the choir gallery and the artistic contribution of the Catalan architect, Josep Maria Jujol, who was an assistant to Antoni Gaudi. “This is much more unorthodox than the Santíssim Chapel which was restored by Majorcan artist Miquel Barceló,” Restoration Director Pere Terrassa said to the public viewing the choir gallery. He was referring to the front of the choir stalls which were painted by Jujol. They are unfinished works of art which have been the subject of much discussion considering the sacred context in which they were created. But Terrassa described the paintings as “special” during his talk. Also having undergone restoration are a dozen angels in fine gold in the barroque style which originally formed part of an old altar piece of the cathedral. The choir gallery was first built in the 14th century and has survived accidents, such as falling blocks of stone. Project Coordinator Kika Coll said that when cleaning started on the gallery, they could tell it was in an excellent state of repair, despite having peeled away layers of wood and dirt down to the original which was found to have woodworm. The restoration project started in April and will end next month.