The Provincial Commission for Historical Heritage of Córdoba has given the green light to the conservation and restoration project for the side facade of the parish church of Santa Marina de las Aguas Santas, in the capital.

The project specifically focuses on the facade corresponding to the nave of the Gospel of the temple, a distinctive element of this church that combines Gothic-Mudejar styles with Renaissance and Baroque influences.

The project documentation details a worrying state of conservation of the stone material, mainly a calcarenite sensitive to humidity, salts, pollutants, and other environmental and human factors. Cracks, fissures, material loss, disintegration, crumbling, surface erosion, biodeterioration, and dirt have been detected, as well as remnants of inadequate previous interventions.

Despite the significant and urgent deterioration, structural compromise of the ensemble has been ruled out. The intervention aims to ensure the conservation of the building, halt deterioration, and improve the architectural reading through cleaning, consolidation, and protection of the stone material, using compatible, minimally invasive techniques.

A maintenance proposal for preventive conservation is included. The Commission positively assessed the technical proposal but recommended prior studies on material characterization and historical-archaeological analyses for a better understanding of the building. It also advises executing stratigraphic tests before removing any existing polychromy remnants and discourages the use of aggressive products, prioritizing traditional lime-based materials and avoiding mimetic reconstructions.