Tenerife Cabildo has completed the restoration of the Altarpiece of St. James the Apostle, located in the Main Parish of Our Lady of La Concepción in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with an investment of €63,970.
Tenerife Cabildo, through the Historical Heritage Area, has announced the completion of the restoration of the Altarpiece of St. James the Apostle, an 18th-century heritage ensemble found in the Main Parish of Our Lady of La Concepción in the capital of Tenerife. The intervention, which involved an investment of €63,970 fully financed by the island institution, has restored the structural stability of the work and returned its 19th-century historical polychromy.
The island director of Historical Heritage, Isabel de Esteban, highlighted that this restoration goes beyond mere physical conservation of the altarpiece. She explained that the work has allowed for the recovery of the aesthetic and historical reading of the piece, which had been altered after successive interventions over more than two centuries. The altarpiece, linked to the events of July 25 and the history of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is one of the most emblematic heritage ensembles in the city.
The restoration is part of the island's program for the conservation of historical heritage by the Cabildo, which includes the recovery of movable and immovable assets on the island. In this case, the Cabildo's contribution covered the entire cost of the intervention, which was carried out by a team of specialized restorers. The work included surface cleaning, fixing the polychromy, and consolidating the wooden structure, as well as reintegrating chromatic gaps following criteria of reversibility and respect for the original work.
The Altarpiece of St. James the Apostle is a work of great artistic and identity value for the people of Tenerife. Its restoration not only ensures its preservation for future generations but also allows residents and visitors of Santa Cruz to once again enjoy its original splendour. The parish of La Concepción, one of the oldest temples in the capital, houses this altarpiece that represents the apostle James, patron saint of Spain and a key figure in the island's religious tradition.
The intervention has been particularly careful with the 19th-century polychromy, which had suffered alterations due to previous interventions and the passage of time. The restorers have managed to recover the original tones, returning the altarpiece to its historical appearance. Additionally, the structural stability of the ensemble has been improved, which had presented fixation problems in some of its pieces.
Isabel de Esteban emphasized the importance of such actions to preserve the cultural legacy of the island. “Each restoration is a step forward in the conservation of our history and our identity,” she stated. The island director also thanked the collaboration of the parish and the technicians who participated in the project.
The Altarpiece of St. James the Apostle is one of the most prominent assets of the religious heritage of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Its restoration adds to other interventions carried out by the Cabildo on the island, such as the recovery of altarpieces in other parishes or the restoration of movable assets in museums and cultural centres. The total investment of the island's conservation program amounts to several hundred thousand euros annually.
With this action, Tenerife Cabildo reaffirms its commitment to the protection and enhancement of the island's historical heritage. The residents of Santa Cruz and visitors can now admire the altarpiece in all its splendour, thus recovering a fundamental part of the history of the capital of Tenerife.
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