Restoration of the Saint-Sernin basilica in Toulouse: the project for a contemporary rose window
The western facade of the Saint-Sernin basilica in Toulouse is in turn undergoing restoration. In this context, the town hall has launched a competition to renovate the large rose window and make it a contemporary-style glass roof.
Built between the 11th and 14th centuries, a jewel of Romanesque art that has become one of the symbols of the Pink City, the Saint-Sernin basilica has been given a makeover over the years. There was recently, between 2017 and 2019, the vast construction site of the square which now rids it of its parking lot and pedestrianizes it. A €15 million project for the Métropole orchestrated by the architect and urban planner Joan Busquets. “We first wanted to make this place a setting within the framework of our Unesco ambition”, recalls Annette Laigneau, deputy mayor of Toulouse in charge of town planning. Then took place, inside the building, the restoration of the paintings and frescoes of the apse, the masonry and drainage works but also, outside, a restoration of the crypts and their sarcophagi.
Since this month of August, an imposing scalding covers the entire western facade above the entrance porch. A new phase of restoration has started for this part which is one of the most emblematic of Saint-Sernin, at the foot of which all Toulouse residents have passed. This imposing facade, in poor condition, had never been restored. And everyone remembers the net that has covered the large rose window for decades. Not only was this coating unattractive, but it did not protect the Cavaillé-Coll organ, classified as a historic monument, from thermal shocks.
Contemporary art
This new phase of work, at a cost of €1.9 million for the town hall, owner of the basilica, should last one year, according to the schedule mentioned by Annette Laigneau. And this restoration has a surprise in store for Toulouse residents. The town hall has launched a competition for the renovation of the rosette made of a simple translucent glass in order to transform it into a contemporary style glass roof. The official kick-off of this project, which is done in conjunction with the State and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, was given by the vote of the elected officials during the municipal council on July 1st. The town hall wants to address “either a visual artist who must be accompanied by a master glassmaker (or a specialist in other translucent materials), or a master glassmaker or a workshop of glassmakers demonstrating their ability to create artistic”, specifies the deliberation.
The text voted by the elected officials specifies the ambition of the project with the price taking into account the technical, heritage and aesthetic aspects. “The expression of the rendering will be free, symbolic or abstract but resolved in the current of contemporary art while taking into account the history of the monument, its identity and the majesty of the volume”. Without forgetting the “bright atmosphere” created by what constitutes “the only point of direct lighting in the nave” with its diameter of 5.50 meters.
Elected officials allocated €350,000 for the construction of this glass roof. A specific commission has been created to issue an opinion on the four applications that will be selected. A commission whose composition will be extended to the regional curator of Historic Monuments, the priest and an expert.
How many people from Toulouse know that, like Albi, Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi, Saint-Sernin (or the Hôtel-Dieu) are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites? It is one of the roads to Santiago de Compostela, of which it has always been an essential stopover.
“The Unesco file is not abandoned”
Is Toulouse still applying for UNESCO World Heritage listing, as are its neighbors Albi and Carcassonne? Yes, but the file is experiencing “a break”, confirms Annette Laigneau. According to the deputy mayor of Toulouse in charge of town planning, the path is strewn with pitfalls. “Before he can apply, he must be selected by the state. And the criteria are increasingly draconian. “The file is not on stand-by or abandoned. We take time to work. One of the projects is based on the definition of a theme. That of the power struggle at the time of the Capitouls is the subject of a study. The promotion of heritage, in particular properties already classified by Unesco such as the Canal du Midi, the search for labels, etc. are part of this. A work of valorization of the archives of Capitouls is in particular on the agenda.