The didactical restoration of the church of Sant Quirze of Muntanyola, Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

The parish church of Muntanyola, a small temple of mediaeval origin, used to surprise its visitors for having preserved, although in poor condition, its baroque decoration from XVII and XVIII c. This is a rare case in Catalonia, where either social riots or an iconoclastic purification in search of mediaeval designs, have left the majority of ancient religious buildings bare of decorations of more recent times. This exceptional circumstance led to the idea of a "didactic restoration" which would return the splendor of its baroque appearance to the temple. Such an idea was guided by two motives: one was to ingratiate the parishioners with their temple and the of her to collaborate in the recovery of an art that had been discredited in Catalonia for reasons which are alien to architectural and artistic facts. The discovery of some Romanic elements of sufficient importance also suggested its significance which meant that the visitors could read on the walls about the building’s evolution through history and the inhabitants could continue feeling proud of the mediaeval past of their parish church.