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Hello everybody
and welcome back to the history page. This week we will finish our study of
the bells of Santa Mar�a, turning our attention to the practical aspects of
their imminent restoration. Unknown to many, plans to repair the bells have
been in quiet progress for the past decade. The Island Council is now embarking
on the final lap of financial negotiations that will enable this costly and
delicate restoration to become a physical reality.
The Best-Laid Plans of
Mice and Men
But you know,
all along there was really no rush. Islanders have always known that ma�ana
always comes, in its own good time - which is generally a much better time than
we ourselves can arrange. There is something about the suddenness of 'today'
that is altogether too precipitous for the modus operandi of Ibiza. After all,
to dive headlong into a particular course of action carries with it the risk
of overlooking some crucial factor, some fatal flaw in the game plan that will
come to light only when it is too late to remedy. As we shall see, Ibiza's 'Watch
and Wait' system has proved itself to be the ally of the wise - at least as
far as the bells of Santa Mar�a are concerned.
It was ten years
ago that a specialized team of campanologists from Valencia was called in to
assess the state of the Santa Mar�a bells and to present an estimate of the
reparation costs. The bells had not been tolled since the 1970s when Ibiza's
last bell-ringer died, and had suffered the ravages of disuse: progressive warping,
cracking and oxidation. Eventually, the bells could not even strike the hour
without ringing off key, and, once that practise was stopped, the belfry became
a microhabitat for a prosperous colony of nesting pigeons. In the early 1990s,
the authorities began to ponder the possibility of having the bells mended as
Palma de Majorca had already taken steps to do the same for their cathedral,
La Seo - much to their subsequent regret.
At any rate,
the campanologists arrived in Ibiza, inspected the bells and drew up an estimate.
The project would no doubt have gone on to completion had it not been for the
sagacious counsel of Francisco Torres Peters. This priest, scholar and musician,
who was, in fact, the prime mover of the restoration campaign, would not agree
to the terms of reparation. The company proposed to melt down the bells and
recast them in the image of the originals. In Peters' well-informed opinion,
such a procedure was tantamount to cultural patricide in that it was an act
of aggression against one's own patrimony. "If one of the Crown Jewels
was found to have a fissure, it would be unheard of to melt it down and make
a new ring, say" argues Peters. "A specialized jeweller would be called
in to repair it. Perhaps a replica would be made to insure the survival of the
piece, but the original piece would not, under any circumstances, be melted
down and remoulded. Bells are works of art," he continues, "historical
elements of singular value. Every detail must be respected to the maximum -
their inscriptions, their curvature, the very chains from which they hang. All
I can say is, thank goodness we waited until the job could be done properly.
La Seo's bells, for example, were melted down and robbed of 90% of their
historical merit."
Year of the Bell
The long-awaited
moment has finally arrived. A confluence of fortunate circumstances has made
2002 the Year of the Bell in Ibiza. First of all, the Santa Mar�a belfry was
repaired last year under the auspices of Spain's National Cathedral Fund. Eivissa
had been earmarked to receive this state-financed aid for some time, as its
bell tower had been designated as one of the country's artistic-historical monuments
all the way back in the 1950s (a little-known fact with which to impress your
friends). Of course, once the restoration of the belfry was finished, the only
logical thing to do was restore the bells as well. Happily, by this time, technology
in bell reparation, as well as sensitivity to their extraordinary cultural value,
had advanced light-years.
Last year, Peters
took the initiative to contact one of the new campanology companies that have
sprung up, this one also in Valencia. Their proposal met with the priest's approval
and steps were initiated on the bureaucratic level to appropriate funds for
the project. It is still uncertain where the funding will come from, but it
is only a matter of months until the final bill in this long procedure will
signed sealed and delivered. Naturally, when that day comes, expect to read
about it all here at Ibiza History Culture.
Closing
Join us next
week for a closer look at local politics as Ibiza celebrates the Day of Balearic
Autonomy on 1st March. Until then, have a good week, |
