Rehabilitation project for the church and bell tower of Collioure

The beginning of summer also marks a break in the rehabilitation work on the church and bell tower of Collioure.

As you can see from the few attached photos, the work has progressed well. Thus:

1) A new coating has been applied to all the facades of the church after the removal of the old one and the repairs to the walls where necessary;

2) The masonry work on the exterior of the bell tower has progressed so that only the section overlooking Saint Vincent beach remains to be completed, which should be done by the end of the year;

3) The following work has been carried out on the chapels of Sainte lucie, Saint Jean, Saint Sacrement and the chapel of Christ:
– 3.1 Removal of the paneling and side walls;
– 3.2 Removal of the altarpieces;
– 3.3 Transfer of the altarpieces and paneling to a specialized workshop in Toulon.

4) Plastering to remove some of the salt from the walls of these chapels knowing that this will take a few months.

5) Archaeological excavations have been carried out in two chapels but it was concluded that additional research was not necessary.

6) A solution has also been identified to ensure better ventilation of the Treasury room. It will be implemented this fall.

In addition to the continuation of the work mentioned above, the following work to come this fall are as follows:

1) Restoration of the interior of the bell tower. This phase of work, although less visible, will be more complex than the exterior restoration, whether because of the often difficult access to certain parts of the bell tower, the removal of rubble, the installation of scaffolding, and naturally the nature of the restoration work itself.

2) Restoration of the four other interior chapels (Same process as for the other chapels);

3) Restoration of the lower part of the side walls of the nave

4) Additional electricaland carpentry work,, etc.
To date, despite the inherent complexity of this project and its unforeseen events, the deadline will be generally met (2025-2026) as planned in the final project plan of March 2021.
However, we must remain cautious, asif certain financing arrangements could be spread over a longer period.