The carving of the Mare de Déu dels Desamparats can already be visited by citizens in its new location in the City Council’s Exhibition Hall, next to the entrance to the rehabilitated Air-raid Shelter of the Town Hall building, in an environment in which the historical and cultural value of the carving is underlined. The acting Councilor for Heritage and Cultural Resources, Glòria Tello, visited the room this Thursday and presented the space dedicated to carving, right at the point that, apart from the Municipal Balcony, it receives a greater number of visits from the entire consistory.
As Tello recalled, “from the municipal government we understood that the carving of the Virgin Mary had to be in the City Hall for historical and cultural reasons”. And, in fact, he added, it has been located, precisely, within the part of the building that is dedicated to culture, in the Exhibition Hall, next to the entrance to the Air-raid Shelter. The councilor visited the space together with the spokesperson of the municipal group Ciudadanos, Fernando Giner, whom she thanked “for their character and willingness to understand” in this matter.
Asked by reporters, the acting councilor recalled that previously the carving was in the access corridor to the Municipal Historical Museum, which is currently in the process of being remodeled. Although, at first, some possible locations for carving within the museum were considered, their location in some of the rooms was ruled out because it did not correspond to either the contextualization or the technical discourse of any of them. As for placing the image in the space it occupied before the intervention, it was not considered either, since the discovery during the works of a historic arch and the regulatory obligation to protect it decided to redefine the remodeling project of the museum.
In addition, Gloria Tello recalled that the Spanish Constitution defines society as “non-denominational”, although she has defended the presence of the carving of the Virgin Mary in the Municipal Hall “for its historical and cultural value”. Tello stressed that the first floor of the City Hall is as noble as this space dedicated to culture. And he recalled that, in addition, this new space is the one that receives the greatest number of visits from citizens, apart from the Municipal Balcony.
The carving that has been relocated this Thursday was acquired at the end of the Civil War in memory of the guard that was made in the municipal offices of the original image of the Mare de Déu dels Desamparados, which remained appeared in the Town Hall during the Civil War by decision of who was mayor of Valencia at that time, José Cano Coloma. Years later, and to commemorate that decision to preserve the Marian image, a carving of the Virgin Mary was installed in the Town Hall.