Plans to mark the 800th anniversary of the magnificent Gothic cathedral of Burgos with three large new bronze doors have provoked numerous reactions, including that of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) advising the abolition of the project as even critics consider the € 1.2 million project an "artistic outrage".
Cathedral authorities in the northern Spanish city say the new doors, designed by renowned artist Antonio López, are a work of contemporary art that will complement “a monument already made in five artistic styles, which are the fruit of each stage of eight centuries ”. They also show that the current wooden doors are old and can hardly be repaired.
The UNESCO World Heritage Center, acting on a report by the Spanish branch of the International Council on Monuments (Icomos), has not recommended the installation of bronze doors, which show the Father, the Virgin Mary and Jesus as a small child.
More than 31,000 people have signed an angry petition calling the new doors "eyesore" - ugly, something invisible to the naked eye - claiming that "no anniversary guarantees such bad treatment of heritage".
"This is an opportunity to connect the city with the future and make history with these new doors, which the cathedral needs and which will be a symbol of unity and a legacy for future generations," authorities said. of the cathedral.
"Who would have thought of the Louvre now without its pyramid or the German parliament without the glass dome?" they add.
The cathedral was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on October 31, 1984.
Source: UNESCO, Guardian
