Archaeologists in central Cuba on the trail of the Church of Christ Jesus of Nazareth

SANCTI SPIRITUS, Cuba, Dec 13 (ACN) The first part of an integral intervention project of the site where the Church of Jesus of Nazareth is located is already materializing, thanks to the accurate guidance of the Office of the Conservator (OC) of this city and the efforts of specialists to rescue from the ruins an important archeological and patrimonial site of the region.

Located in the southern area of Cuba's former fourth village and very close to the Main Parish Church and the bridge over the Yayabo River, the building that survived until today was constructed in 1830, but it is known that the first chapel made of wood in the Plaza de Jesus dates back to the 17th century, hence the efforts to restore the building and its surroundings.

As OC director Roberto Vitlloch and city historian María Antonieta Jiménez have often said, despite the fact that this is a very difficult task due to its structural problems, collapsed roof and multiple uses, the building of neoclassical altars has—like few others in the province of Sancti Spiritus—a variety of extremely valuable mural paintings.

Although the first steps to implement this initiative were taken in 2016, it was not until now that the excavations and studies of the mural painting were resumed following a first evaluation and efforts to recover the building’s wooden elements, which reveal information about how they worked at that time, as well as locally made tiles, fine English slabs, coins, etc.

Because of COVID-19 and other reasons, these queries were stopped more than once, but eventually they were resumed and, most importantly, students of the Conrado Garau Gayá Trade School & Workshop started to learn certain research techniques and get on-site practical training.
The specialist remarked that right now they are studying possible traces of wooden posts, which could shed light on this church that existed in the late 17th century. They have already collected different types of bricks and identified two levels of the mural painting.

“It is safe to say that the first mural painting has already been discovered,” said restorer Carlos Manuel Perez, another expert engaged in this work. “We are studying a second one now in which the colors blue and red prevail, but all indications are that it is covering another, even bigger one and with more intense colors.”

These excavations are only a part of the integral intervention of the former site of the old temple is located, since the intention is to restore as well the Plaza de Jesús and design a service compound for the benefit of an area closely linked to the historic center.
According to the city historian, the remains of the church that we can see today differ from the first chapel built in that space, since this one is wider, oriented from north to south and has neoclassical forms.