Categories: Restoration
View of the San Sebastian Fortress UNESCO and the Government of Mozambique signed an agreement, in 2003, for the rehabilitation of one of the most important monuments on the Island of Mozambique, a site inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991 - the San Sebastian Fortress.
Built in the 16th century by the Portuguese colonial rulers, the Fortress is one of the oldest and in its massive and sober military architecture one of the most impressive monuments of the Island. It bears witness to the island's early obtained function as a major Portuguese trading port on the sea route to India for spices and ivory at first, and later for slave trade as of the second half of the 18th century. Its defensive forms are greatly inspired by Italian Renaissance military architecture and have basically remained unchanged ever since as evidenced by the comparison with old illustrations and drawings. The original building materials are characteristic for the region and its natural resources and the intricate system of rain water collection answers ably to the island's scarcity of freshwater.
Since gaining independence in 1975, the economic stagnation of the Island of Mozambique became severe and the historical building masses, including the Fortress of San Sebastian, have suffered serious decay in the following decades.
For this reason, immediate action is compulsory in order to prevent the building complex from further deterioration. The duration of rehabilitation works is limited to two years and divided into two phases. A first remedial action will concentrate on prevention from further deterioration. In a second step the building complex will be restored and furthermore equipped with a minimum of facilities for its yet unspecified new functions in the future. The conservational know-how obtained during the project may help accomplish further rehabilitation works on the island in the future. For this purpose a manual shall be produced.
The project execution involves a multidisciplinary team of professionals comprising of conservators, architects, historians, archivists and archaeologists, artisans and others. The rehabilitation work will be done by a construction company specialized in Architectural Heritage Restoration, and contracted through an international bid. An architectural and engineering company will therefore be required to produce all the technical documents (execution drawings, technical specifications, bill of quantities, etc.) necessary for the publication of the tender for the rehabilitation work. In any case, a maximum involvement of the local community in the project is an underlying principle and binding guideline for the execution of the rehabilitation works.
UNESCO will coordinate the rehabilitation project technically and administratively as part of its international mandate to ensure effective preservation and management of World Heritage Sites and in line with its decision to commence historic preservation works on the San Sebastian Fortress, without further delay. The project is funded by Japan through the Japanese Funds-in-Trust, the Union of Lusophone Capital Cities (UCCLA) and Portugal through IPAD (Portuguese Institute for Aid and Development).
Contacts
Lazare Eloundou Assomo ([email protected])
Benoît Sossou ([email protected])
States parties
Mozambique
Sites
Island of Mozambique
Geographical focus:
Africa
In http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/311/
NOTA:
De que estará o Governo de Moçambique à espera para iniciar as obras de restauro da Fortaleza de S. Sebastião na Ilha de Moçambique? Ou o dinheiro já foi desviado?
Recorde:
http://macua.blogs.com/moambique_para_todos/2004/06/projecto_da_une.html
Fernando Gil
MACUA DE MOÇAMBIQUE
