Aug. 28 – One of the most sacred buildings to Christians, built in the 4th century in the precise place where Jesus was born, will be restored. An Italian company has been chosen to ensure its “preservation”. Piacenti of Prato will work in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, carrying out a restoration that will include the structural consolidation of wooden trusses, replacing the lead roofing and installing new fixtures. The contract was signed a few days ago in Bethlehem, in the presence of the representative of the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Rami Hamdallah, the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Consul General in Jerusalem, Davide La Cecilia, and other representatives of the Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchate. The restoration works will last approximately 12 months and cost approximately $ 2 million, will start on September 15 with a first phase of worksite, followed by the more complex work of scaffolding installation, both external and internal. Before, however, the restorers will protect all the decorations and valuables inside the church. Temporary works will therefore be implemented for the safety of wall mosaics, columns, frescoes, stone floor and wooden lintels. At the end of these operations, the restoration of the wooden trusses will proceed. The areas of intervention have been identified thanks to preliminary studies, conducted in 2010, by the Consorzio Ferrara Ricerche, University of Carrara, by the CNR-Ivalsa, University of Naples, University of Siena and the University of Rome. “The studies – the company said in a statement – determined the types of timber present and their state of preservation, different in each truss and subject to more or less accentuated rain infiltration. The main measures concern the consolidation of these trusses via differentiated structural reinforcement, according to the depth and extent of the deterioration of the wood. At the same time, we will replace the lead cover through the introduction of a ventilated roof composed of several layers that will ensure air recirculation in the attic, contributing to the protection and preservation of the underlying elements.” Finally all perimeter windows will be removed and replaced, with the installation of new crosses on the roof and a complete review of the rainwater ducts.
