Capela de São Brás, Portugal
In 2022 I was selected to undergo training in The Conservation & Restoration of Frescos through the European Heritage Volunteers Association, in partnership with Spira - Heritage Revitalisation, Portugal.
The program centred around the conservation of 16th Century Frescoes in the Capela de São Brás, a small chapel located in the rural town of Portel, in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The chapel’s interior is beautifully decorated with remarkable examples of fresco painting; one of the oldest wall-covering techniques in the area. The frescoes were first discovered in 2003 under the lime-wash that covered the walls of the chapel. There are several chapels and hermitages in the region with important decorations that showcase the unusual painting style developed in the area, a technique that has come into disuse and which, for this very reason, is at risk of disappearing.
[The Capela de São Brás has been part of the Rota do Fresco (Fresco Route) since 1998. The Rota do Fresco is the first cultural touring route of Portugal integrating fifteen municipalities of Alentejo and more than fifty monuments with wall paintings that illustrate the unique fresco painting technique developed in the area for the past 500 years. The Fresco route has become a local development project currently driven by the organisation “Spira – Heritage Revitalization”, which promotes heritage awareness of the communities involved, as well as provides support for conservation and restoration interventions at the sites.]
Through the training I participated in first stages of conservation and documentation process on site; and learnt to utilise the various practical techniques and materials in order to carry out delicate intervention work on the fragile surfaces. This included the removal of lime-wash, consolidation of damaged painted wall, cleaning of frescoes and intricate re-touching of paintwork. I was also involved in workshops and discussions that further detailed the peculiarities of the fresco style, gaining understanding of the natural materials present in the region – as river sand, lime-wash and natural pigments – that enabled the elaboration of the frescoes. Future preservation of the site was of high importance during my training, with topics of sustainability, the impact of climate change on the landscape, in particular desertification were discussed. I gained knowledge of how these natural developments can have an impact on the availability of indigenous natural materials which endanger the the continuation of the local fresco technique, and about the importance of community engagement in its preservation and the sustainability of the traditions.
