Nuestra Señora de los Angeles Church

Wind, combined with the material’s low tensile strength, was the primary cause of the crack in the vault and the structural separation between the lateral façade and the western end of the main façade. Minor seismic activity over the three centuries since its construction also contributed to this effect.

The main façade and the bell gable (espadaña) were shored up using a stabilizer. The intervention required a solution executed with maximum economy of means.

A creative structural solution was implemented, consisting of a beam within the vault, connectors to the main façade, and tie rods anchored to the buttresses.

During the restoration of the oxidized anchors and the iron cross, the opportunity was taken to gild the cross with a catechetical purpose: the cross is glorious, not an instrument of torture.

Finally, the church suffered from falling debris dislodged from the roof and the glazed “Arabic” tile domes. The roofs and domes were restored, preserving the blue and white color scheme so characteristic of the Mediterranean.

Project Credits

• Contractor: VALSECO

• Structural Engineering: Windmill

• Technical Architects / Quantity Surveyors: Luis Ros & Beatriz Duarte