FUNDACIÓN COLEGIO Nª Sª DE LA ANTIGUA.

FRANCISCO ALBO
07/01/2020 – (La Voz de Galicia)

The gallery of the Colegio de la Compañía de Monforte de Lemos already has a new lighting system that was designed with the aim of making it easier for visitors to see the valuable works of art that it keeps and also to guarantee its conservation. The spotlights that were located at the top of the room were mostly removed and replaced by other light sources that point directly at the paintings. “The installation was made in such a way that now the light seems to come out of the paintings themselves, which have gained visibility and can be seen much better than before,” said professor and priest Javier Aguado, president of the school’s board of trustees.

The new lighting has been applied to all the paintings, among which two original canvases by El Greco stand out —a San Francisco and a San Lorenzo— and five oil paintings on walnut wood, which are old copies of many other works by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Sarto, with the figures of Saint Peter, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret and Saint Agnes. The lighting of the showcases in the room has also been renewed, containing religious images, bibliographic pieces, objects for liturgical use and other elements. The light fabrics that served as background for these showcases were replaced by others of a dark color so that the pieces they contain can be better viewed. The light sources now used by the gallery are LED technology without ultraviolet or infrared radiation, with minimal thermal dissipation, following the standards currently recommended for the lighting of artistic pieces in this class. About 35,200 euros have been invested in the new facility, of which 20% was contributed by the school’s foundation. The rest of the financing was obtained thanks to an agreement with the Axencia de Turismo de Galicia and the Instituto Enerxético de Galicia.

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Today, June 27, we had the first group of 20 tourists at 11:00, complying with the rules of distance and masks, but we were delighted to be able to show visitors one of the historical and artistic jewels of Monforte. These first tourists were able to enjoy the new lighting of the Pinacoteca that will be presented to the public media on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

Today’s visitors included an illustrious Galician, Mr. Francisco Vázquez, ex-mayor of Coruña.

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From the first of July, the visits to the monumental area of Colexio de Nª Sª da Antiga will be renewed. It would seem that the visitors wore masks and kept to the essential rules of distance.

The hours will be you will see:

Tuesday to Saturday

Tomorrow: 11:00 and 12:45 Afternoons: 16:30 and 18:00

Sundays: 12:30

While the restrictions established by COVID-19 last, please ensure and arrange your visit through the Monforte de Lemos Tourism Office:

Phone: +34 982404715,

or e-mail: turismo@concellodemonforte. com

The visits of large groups must be arranged at the Monforte de Lemos Tourist Office. The groups will complete up to 20 people.

This painting caught my attention some fifteen years ago when I saw it for the first time along with another of Saint John the Evangelist, which I hope some day can also be restored….

See news of the Correo Gallego

https://www.elcorreogallego.es/tendencias/el-correo2/ecg/san-juan-bautista-colegio-compania-monforte/idEdicion-2020-03-29/idNoticia-1238481/

The original historical documentation does not include many references to original names on the lands where the school remains settled.

1. In the Conditions Document, drafted for the auction of the works, it is indicated “on […] the site which had been purchased by the order of Your Honour, going from the aforesaid town to the Hermitage of his lord San Lazarus. […] ».

2. In another Land Assignment document, “[…] it was mandated to build a church and a school, on the site next to the Hermitage of the San Lázaro Bridge, […]”.

3. The historian Armando Cotarelo Valledor, researcher of the archives of the school and author of a manual on the developer of the work, Cardinal Don Rodrigo de Castro, describes the place as “[…] in the lush banks of the Cabe River, in the west part of the town, past the stream and the so-called “El Arrabal”, towards the neighborhood of Carúa [sic], walking around the hermitage of San Lázaro ».

4. The term Carud is shown on the map of Fontán, although, according to it, Carud is located on the other bank of the Cabe River. At present, Carude is the name of a neighbourhood, a street and a square, all near the school.

The grounds where the school is settled are crossed by a stream. Cotarelo says that “[…] it adjoins the majestic Cabe on its north border, and the San Lázaro stream by the east, […]”. According to the given description, it seems to refer to the one which, currently, receives the name of “Riachuelo de las Malloadas”.

We have just posted on our website the extensive study carried out to obtain the BIC Declaration of our building. We draw attention to the magnificent work done by three people who have long studied and worked in the preparation of the documentation we now offer. This documentation is divided into two TOMOS of which we generate here two links for faster access and consultation. In the menu of this page, in Architecture / Documentation can also be found.

We read in the article by Francisco Pérez Rodríguez entitled “SOME RELEVANT ASPECTS ON THE SCULPTOR FRANCISCO DE MOURE”: The date of his death needs to be reviewed. Until now it was accepted on September 15, 1636 as the date of his death because it was stated in the death certificate located in a parish book of San Vicente del Pino and that, literally, expresses:

«Moure escultor. En quince de Septiembre de 1636 murió Moure el escultor -enterróse C S. Francisco- mando decir en esta yglesia treinta misas. Y por verdad-ut. a.- Fr. Antonio de Torgda. cura de San Vicente».

However, this date is erroneous and must be advanced a few months, since the statement of the Corregidor and Mayor of the town of Monforte de Lemos does not raise any discussion that such an event occurs on June 20, the day on which he is notified death with the intention of obtaining the authorization of the inventory of the abundant movable and real estate left by the decedent…

Therefore, we must consider the date of June 20, 1636 as the most certain to place the death of D. Francisco de Moure in Monforte de Lemos.

This week, the tiles have been placed again where the fallen stone of the tower had destroyed the roof. Quick and efficient repair, since our rainfall is high in these months, it was convenient to leave things as they should be as soon as possible.

We will briefly inform you of the steps to renew the tower auction.

In fact, thanks to a former student of our School, Manuel Garrido, and his magnificent drone, last Sunday February 2, in the afternoon we were able to locate the location of the great iron cross that fell on December 19 due to the hurricane wind suffered by Monforte. The cross is in a place of the same tower of very difficult access. We could also appreciate the damage caused to the roofs by the detachment of the fragments of the stone. We will try to repair the top of the tower as soon as possible. With a few simple images we realize the state of the cross.

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On December 19 in Monforte there was a lot of wind as in the whole region. La Voz de Galicia informed that day that Monforte was one of the towns most affected by Elsa. According to the newspaper, the rains and wind generated 112 more than a thousand incidents on the telephone and after the city of Lugo, the one in Monforte was the second one that generated the most calls.

These weather incidents affected the building of the College of the Cardinal. In fact the strong gusts of wind ended up breaking one of the granite balls that top each of the towers, specifically the one on the left. Apparently and as investigated the stone ball should already have a crack that between rain and ice subtracted strength from it. When blowing a continuous wind and with so much intensity the iron cross that finished off the set would vibrate until said tapping did the rest. The ball broke and the cross that apparently is still in the tower was lost.

This incident will be communicated to the corresponding Department of Heritage of the Xunta for your information.

Hopefully this architectural element can be replaced soon and return equality to the twin towers of our building.