The Basilica of Santa Maria de Mataró has begun restoration work on the bronzes of the bell tower, which includes the casting of a new bell and the renewal of all the fastening and counterweight elements of the others. This will allow the historical repertoire to be restored and guarantee the continuity of manual bell ringing, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The Generalitat of Catalonia has already granted a subsidy of 44,000 euros and the Mataró City Council will contribute 44,000 euros more to make the project possible.
The mayor of Mataró, David Bote; the parish priest of Santa María, Monsignor Jaime Moyá; the Councilor for Culture, Heidi Pérez; the director of the Territorial Services of Culture of the Generalitat Andreu Felip; and the director of the Museo Archivo de Santa María de Mataró, Nicolau Guanyabens, presented the project in a press conference this morning.
The intervention, promoted by the Museu Arxiu de Santa María, as the entity that manages the artistic, historical and cultural heritage of the parish, must make it possible to overcome and reverse the functional pathologies that the bell tower has been carrying for decades, aggravated since 2017 with the appearance of severe cracks in the "Carme" bell that have since made it impossible to ring in motion.
Furthermore, the condition of the rest of the bells and their support and drive mechanisms also present risks of dysfunction that will now be eliminated through a comprehensive operation to renew the fastening elements, in accordance with current campanological and heritage criteria. To do this, during the first quarter of 2024, all the bells of the basilica will be removed – with the exception of the two civil ones, which mark the quarters and hours – and they will be transferred to the workshop of a specialized company, where they will be cleaned and manufactured. They will install new straight-arm yokes and heads made of wood, analogous to those that had already existed in the temple before the Civil War, when all the bells for liturgical use disappeared.
Meanwhile, a master bell ringer will be entrusted with the artisan casting of a new "Carme" bell that will replace the current one, which dates back to 1954. It will have the equivalent shape, dimensions and weight. It will also preserve the original sound, although it will be designed with a contemporary concept.
The main objectives of the set of actions planned in the project are to put an end to the progressive deterioration of the elements that operate the bells, restore their full use, guarantee their continuity and revitalize the unique values of the bell tower from the historical, architectural and ethnographic point of view. . Precisely, Mataró is one of the cities in Spain that has long maintained the uninterrupted and regular practice of manual bell ringing, proclaimed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO last year.
The Basilica of Santa María was declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest (BCIN) by the Generalitat of Catalonia in 1997, with the consideration of a Historical Monument. Its bell tower constitutes a unique component of the entire temple building and is one of the elements that make up the monumental character recognized in the declaration. Together with the bronzes for liturgical and civil uses that it houses and with a centuries-old repertoire of manual touches documented in documents, it forms an organic, symbolic and instrumental unit that represents an important heritage to be safeguarded.
The popularity of the bells of Santa Maria and their manual ringing in the city is especially evident on important dates such as the Les Santes festival, when they focus the attention of some main events. Likewise, with the repeated success of the open days that are held every year in the bell tower of the basilica, organized jointly by the Archive Museum and the City Council, on the occasion of the European Heritage Days or the Candlemas festival. One of the objectives of the project that will be carried out is to expand the visiting program as a means of facilitating knowledge of its heritage value.
The expected cost of the interventions, which already have the planning license and all the necessary approvals and permits, exceeds 100,000 euros. To address this, there is a financial contribution of 44,000 euros from the Department of Culture of the Generalitat, within the framework of the call for subsidies for properties of notable cultural value, and the Matarón City Council will contribute another 44,000 euros.
What is contemplated in the rehabilitation project includes action on the set of bells for liturgical use in the bell tower cell and also on the automatic ringing elements of the two that mark the time signals from the upper floor, and it is estimated that ends in June 2024.
To complement the contributions of both administrations, Santa Maria is finalizing a campaign to attract company sponsorships and collect personal contributions that will allow the financing of all the planned interventions to be completed, in addition to different communication actions to bring the entire community closer. citizenship the rich material and intangible heritage of the bell tower.
Precisely another important benefit of the proposed operations is the possibility that opens up of reviewing the list of manual touches that are now carried out, negatively conditioned by the existing metal devices and by the deterioration derived from their inadequacy. In this way, the traditional repertoire of Santa Maria can be recovered, with the uniqueness of Mataró.
