The chapel of Sant Llàtzer, which has been standing since the 12th century in Plaça Pedró, has suffered considerable painting of the most disturbing kind that has been visible for some time. It is not a signature. Nor of the typical and barbaric action, turned into a weapon for the hooligans’ business; they dirty the metal shutters and the doors so that an “artistic” performance is commissioned: there is a pact between these hooligans that it is respected.
Sant Llàtzer’s is not an improvised action on the fly to use as little time as possible so that they are not seen or hunted with spray in hand. It is, as can be seen in the photograph, an action that has already been studied, adapted to the shapes of the wall and with the intention of obtaining certain visual effects sought. The place corresponds to the back of the chapel: the outside of the apse. It is imprisoned between ancient civil constructions, when these buildings were not respected as heritage wealth.
Our Romanesque period is a fundamental period in the birth of Catalan architecture; that’s why at the beginning of the 20th century it was studied and rediscovered especially in the Pyrenees by the architects Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch. The chapel of Sant Llàtzer is one of only five Romanesque buildings that Barcelona treasures.
The correct, thorough and exemplary action undertaken by the Urban Architecture and Heritage Service, led very closely by its director Marc Aureli Santos, relieved in an ominous way by the duo Ada Colau-Janet Sanz by not meeting arbitrary demands over other projects, he finally managed to recover this besieged and engulfed chapel.
This rear part of the apse is a bit obscured from view and can only be seen from Carrer de Sant Llàtzer, although it may even go unnoticed by the distracted passerby.
In truth, it is a landscape panorama that was tolerated and even liked by the Colau City Council, especially Gala Pin, councilor of Ciutat Vella, as if trying to “Neapolitanize” it. She was seduced by the performance of a guy who sticks his messages written on the walls with a letter in each empty can, always next to the tombstone of the name of the street, the most overlooked point.
But on the facade of Sant Llàtzer and next to the main door, which faces Plaça Pedró, there has also been a mistake for many years that requires correction. An electrical service company nailed two informative technical plates to no less than the Romanesque ashlars. It unnecessarily clutters the delicately restored noble ensemble. It will be enough to move them to the other side, where there was no other choice but to raise a fragment of the current facade.
It’s that simple: all you need is a will, a good will. we will wait
