The Arrecife City Council has concluded the cleaning and restoration work on the stone walls of the Puente de las Bolas and the access walkway to the Castillo de San Gabriel, after the acts of vandalism suffered with graffiti and graffiti in various areas of the monumental complex.
The mayor, Astrid Pérez, wanted to publicly express her "strongest condemnation of the lack of civic-mindedness of a few citizens who do not respect urban furniture, with the burning of containers, nor the historical heritage of Arrecife." "And this, in addition to a lack of appreciation for the city in which we live and an act of vandalism, is an expense for the municipal coffers that are nourished by the taxes of all citizens,” added Pérez.
According to the Arrecife City Council, being an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), recognized as such in 1979, the action on the architectural complex and the cleaning of the walls deteriorated by the action of the painting “must be carried out by a specialized and approved company, with authorization from the Heritage Department of the Cabildo de Lanzarote”.
“Processing the entire file and obtaining authorization from the Heritage Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote has delayed the start of the works, for which it is also necessary to hire an expert restoration company that has the technicians and materials necessary to face this type of work,” said the Councilor for Cleaning, Roberto Herbón.
Tibicena Arqueología y Patrimonio S.L., under the direction of the restoration technician, graduated in Fine Arts and specialist in rehabilitation, Sara Bosh Mauricio, has carried out the cleaning and restoration tasks with a budget of 3,054 euros, financed by the Arrecife Cleaning area.
The City Council makes a call to protect the Heritage
The Arrecife City Council recalls that the Castillo de San Gabriel was built in 1574 under the reign of Felipe II to defend the city from corsairs and pirates. Its cannons kept the coast safe until the arrival of the pirate Morato Arráez in 1586, whose repeated attacks reduced the building to ashes. Already in 1596, the Italian architect Leonardo Torriani rebuilt it with the current drawbridge to connect the city with the islet on which it is located.
The Puente de las Bolas, named for the large granite spheres installed on the pillars that flank it, is also “the only construction of these characteristics that is preserved in the Canary Islands and one of the most emblematic and important historical-artistic monuments of Arrecife”.
The Councilor for Cleaning, Roberto Herbón, wanted to send a message to the population about “the importance of protecting our architectural heritage and publicly condemning this type of attack against buildings that are part of the historical and monumental wealth of a city that loves and defends its history and its past”.