The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced in a statement yesterday that the second phase of restoration and maintenance work on the bronze statues of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St. Paul’s façade has been completed, with the archaeological site behind the landmark now reopened to the public.
The statement said the restoration had been carried out since last year by the “Centre for the Preservation and Transmission of the Cultural Heritage of the Palace Museum in Macao”, established under the auspices of the bureau.
According to the statement, the restoration team included experts from the Palace Museum, international metal conservation specialists and professionals from local higher education institutions.
In order to enhance conservation efforts, the project covered seven bronze statues on the façade and was divided into three phases, taking into account the typhoon season, site safety, peak travel periods and major events, the statement said.
The first phase of the restoration was completed last year, involving the Virgin Mary statue on the third tier and two bronze statues on the right side of the second tier, the statement noted, adding that the second phase focused on two bronze statues on the left side of the second tier as well as the statue of Jesus Christ on the fourth tier, and has now been successfully concluded.
According to the statement, the third phase, covering the remaining dove statue on the top tier, is scheduled to be commence later this year.
Following the completion of the second phase, the archaeological site behind the Ruins of St. Paul’s, including the “Visiting the Ruins of St. Paul’s in Space and Time” virtual reality (VR) exhibition and the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt, have been reopened to residents and tourists, the statement said.
This undated handout photo provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows its UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St. Paul’s after completion of its second-phase restoration.
