Integrityauthenticity, use. If the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba has reached its full potential until 2024, it is thanks to such values, and if UNESCO maintains it as World Heritageand also as a monument of exceptional universal value, it is precisely because of the way in which it has been kept alive.
This use which made it possible to open and maintain it every day is fundamentally religious, as revealed by the day of study and dissemination that the Cathedral Chapter celebrates this Monday, the 40th anniversary of the declaration as a world heritage site.
The inaugural lecture was given by Flame Helperdirector in Spain of the International Organization of Museums and Museum Curators (ICOM), who insisted precisely on conservation through use as a fundamental key.
“We all know that if buildings are abandoned, they cause very significant heritage losses, but the Cabildo carries out a series of activitieswhether for liturgical, cultural or tourist purposes”, and which, said Auxiliadora Llamas, emphasizes “the importance of the universal values of authenticity and integrity”, which are maintained. This is important because the seal of world heritage must be preserved.
During this period, many restoration actions were carried out and we focused on those carried out from the 19th century onwards, which eliminated added elements to reveal the original nature of the whole, the architecture beginning of Islam
Many factors weigh into the UNESCO declaration, the main one being “the juxtaposition of crops”, which occurred without substantially altering the design of the monument. “This is global and must be preserved by all citizens,” he stressed.
artistic achievements
This is why the criteria of “authenticity and integrity”, and this was achieved through the use, as well as the actions that regularly conserved the different elements and found some of those that remained hidden after subsequent interventions.
Auxiliadora Llamas insisted on the architectural achievements that the monument has from the first moment, such as the height, obtained thanks to the double arch that is inspired by the aqueduct of Milagros, which is in Mérida, and then with the wasp nest capital and the ribbed vault to support the ceilings.
All these achievements meant that the beauty that the Mosque-Cathedral preserved during this time also had a great influence on Western Islamic art, where these techniques were maintained. It has also been enriched because, as Auxiliadora Llamas reminds us, “the history of the building is also the history of its transformations“.
If the Mosque-Cathedral is a unique work, it is because it is “a religious monument configured by different cultures”, and this is why it must be looked at “as a whole”. integratedmuch more complex than the sum of its parts. “We will move away from authenticity if we see its elements in isolation,” he insisted.
Auxiliadora Llamas, during the inaugural conference
All these “historical changes that have enriched it as something unique and exceptional” are due to use, fundamentally religious over the centuries, but now also cultural and tourist, with many activities, has declared the director of ICOM in Spain, who highlighted its entire construction. stages, from Abderramán I until the creation of the transept in the 16th century, where he defended the criterion of Hernán Ruiz.
It was the first conference after an inauguration in which the mayor of Córdoba, Jose Maria Bellidopraised the work carried out on the monument. “We are witnessing its realization and its integration into the life of the city, because the Mosque-Cathedral is the soul of Córdoba,” he said.
The Bishop of Cordoba, Démetrio Fernándezgave some figures: last Saturday, November 2, 12,000 people visited the monument, and this is the result, he assured, of the work of the Cabildo and the professionals who maintain its visible values.
