June 12, 2013

Conference

XXV CONFERENCE JACOBEAS

Cataloguing and study of cultural heritage

Ms. María Concepción García Gainza.
Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre

When at the end of 1977 we tried to join forces to undertake the creation of the Monumental Catalogue of Navarre, we were aware of the magnitude of project we were facing, a magnitude that would require the effort and energy of a team of specialists, art historians, for many years. Faced with these expectations, there was a certain faintness that was soon overcome by the excitement of project, since we intended to carry out a cultural business of great scope and absolutely necessary for Navarre, for the knowledge and the consequent conservation of its monumental and artistic heritage.

It was, moreover, an integrating project of Navarrese entities that joined their efforts in a common task; first, we found in the Archbishopric of Pamplona a concern similar to ours for the safeguarding of religious art and, later, we decided to invite the Institución Príncipe de Viana to participate in this enormous business. The three entities -the Prince of Viana Institution of the Government of Navarre, the Archbishopric of Pamplona and department of History of Art of the School of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Navarre- were promoters and sponsors of this work, since all three had as their priority goal the knowledge and conservation of the religious and civil heritage of Navarre.

In the project that we presented at the beginning of the conversations, a Catalog articulated by Merindades was contemplated, starting with Tudela, which offered less difficulty because it was formed by large population centers and fast access by highway, followed by Estella, Olite, Sangüesa, to finish with Pamplona. The idea was to work from less to more difficult. It was imposed the work on the ground and the visit long and stopped to all the cities, towns, villages, towns and places of the five Merindades. And so, day after day, winters and springs, we have walked through squares and streets, entered monasteries, churches and hermitages, climbed the towers, walked over the vaults, reviewed warehouses and storage rooms and reached hidden corners, all of which has given us many artistic surprises covered by the dust of the centuries. We also visited the uninhabited areas with abandoned churches and farmhouses. We were then aware of working for history. In the thousands of kilometers we traveled on roads and trails, under the scorching sun, rains and storms, divine protection accompanied us. We had no accidents or mishaps.
 

Monumental Catalogue of Navarra. I. Merindad de Tudela
Pamplona, 1980

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. II*. Merindad of Estella
Pamplona, 1982

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. II**. Merindad of Estella
Pamplona, 1983
 

With the study of the works in situ - descriptions, analysis, measurements, photographs and enquiry from local archives - we obtained the information on the Heritage, considered in an exhaustive manner. We collected every monument or object of urban, architectural or artistic value, without discrimination, valuing equally all the arts and periods, religious buildings, palaces, stately homes with their heraldic coats of arms, popular architecture, altarpieces, imagery, paintings, gold and silver work, ornaments, ivories and grilles. These data were elaborated in long conference of essay in the department of History of Art of our School, with lively discussions about the works, handling of a wide bibliography of the Library Services of Humanities and, likewise, enquiry with specialists of other subjects in a really interdisciplinary research . We all learned a lot with this work, but above all two things: to work together, side by side, and to value Heritage and take responsibility for its conservation.

This business would not have been possible without a team of specialists dedicated to project above personal goals and touched by a certain taste for cultural adventure. We were also young and full of energy. In the first phase, the team was formed by the young Andalusian professors Mª Carmen Heredia and Jesús Rivas Carmona, and by the Navarrese Mercedes Orbe Sivatte and María Concepción García Gainza, who led the team; a curious combination of Andalusians and Navarrese that worked very well. Once the first four volumes were published, professors Heredia and Rivas obtained place in public universities, where today they are outstanding specialists, but they continued to be closely linked to the business of the Catalog. Their replacement was made from the Navarre quarry of department, with Asunción Domeño Martínez de Morentin and Javier Azanza López, who contributed skill, renewed energy and enthusiasm. The two of them, together with Mercedes Orbe, a survivor of the early days, and the present writer, culminated the business with the publication of nine volumes in total, corresponding to the five Merindades. As collaborators in the outings to work and in the research searches, Ricardo Fernández Gracia, in a continuous and dedicated way, and also Pedro Echeverría Goñi, Clara Fernández-Ladreda, Asunción Orbe Sivatte, Pilar Andueza Unanua and Mercedes Jover, and some others whose names appear in the volumes of the Catalogue in different times and places, intervened.

Monumental Catalogue of Navarra. III. Merindad de Olite
Pamplona, 1985
 

We believe that B is one of the values of the work and that one of its values is the unity of criteria in force from beginning to end, due to the same direction and continuity of the members of the team, who were well versed in the methodology used. They were also trained professionals, most of them doctors, who worked with submission and admirable success. Undoubtedly, we formed a well-trained team when we faced the most difficult Merindades, such as Estella, with numerous population entities, or Sangüesa, largely depopulated and with the artifacts moved to other places, or the Merindad of Pamplona itself.

We worked in close relationship with the team of the Archbishopric directed by Mr. Jesús María Omeñaca, and formed by Mr. Isidoro Ursúa, Mr. Emilio Linzoain and Mr. Martín Zubieta, in the early days, who carried out the inventory of goods of the Diocese at the same time. Throughout twenty years governments of different sign, counselors, directors of Príncipe de Viana and diocesan charges were succeeding, but we must say in honor to the truth that all, with greatness of vision, sponsored the Monumental Catalogue of Navarre, conscious of the importance of this business for the conservation of our Patrimony and considering it as own work.
 

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. IV*. Merindad of Sangüesa
Pamplona, 1989

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. IV**. Merindad of Sangüesa
Pamplona, 1992
 

If the Catalog served to unite the institutions, it also served to put the University in contact with the people of Navarra, with parish priests, mayors, secretaries and neighbors of different localities, all involved in the same interest towards their own heritage, with a close relationship and communication rarely achieved between university professors and society. They told us their stories and traditions, and we talked to them about the value of their things and how they should preserve them. It was a gratifying and unforgettable experience to establish a dialogue with the men and women of Navarre, and to learn about the resilience and peculiarities of their different types in the different geographical areas. Another of the beneficial consequences of the Monumental Catalog of Navarra was the training of a numerous group of specialists in Heritage whose skill is recognized in university and heritage protection fields. They know the topic, have correct and correct criteria in difficult questions, and sensitivity to deal with this delicate heritage that we have received from the generations that preceded us and that is in permanent danger of disappearing or being distorted. But above all, what was really difficult was to complete the work, a difficulty made evident by so many Catalogs or Inventories of geographical areas of our country that remained uninterrupted and unpublished. One business, the cataloguing of Navarre's Heritage (Cristóbal de Castro, 1914), which had been attempted by the Commission of Monuments of Navarre more than a century before and which was an idea repeatedly put forward by the different directors of the Institución Príncipe de Viana, but which had result been impossible to bring to fruition and carry forward until now.
 

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. V*. Merindad of Pamplona
Pamplona, 1994

Monumental Catalogue of Navarre. V**. Merindad of Pamplona
Pamplona, 1996

Monumental Catalogue of Navarra. V***. Merindad of Pamplona
Pamplona, 1997
 

The culmination of the Monumental Catalog of Navarre had as result the deep and detailed knowledge of the monumental and artistic heritage of Navarre, a consequence of the brilliant history of the kingdom of Navarre. A rich heritage, belonging to all periods, and diverse with peculiar marks of identity. From this point on, research and thesis Doctoral projects dealing with this Heritage have followed one after the other, and we continue along these lines today, significantly increasing the historiography of Navarrese art. The Catalogue has also promoted the restoration of buildings, following its evaluation and calls of attention on its state and importance. This Heritage, currently digitized in its 40,000 images, with the corresponding database, allows to know in depth each of his works and thus facilitate their study and conservation. Because, as we said in the presentation of the first volume of the Catalog (1980), it is not possible to keep that which one does not even know one has or does not value properly. The creation nine years ago of a Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre, under the sponsorship of the Government of Navarre, makes possible the diffusion of knowledge of this Heritage in the different spheres of the society.