• This century-old church, closed to worship since 1985, has undergone a complete refurbishment, including its structure and interior ornamental lighting.
• A total of 68 luminaires with a total power of only 1,700 W have been installed.

Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real). Valdepeñas Town Council, the Ministry of Public Works, the Fundación Iberdrola España, together with the parishioners of the Santo Cristo de Valdepeñas Parish Church (Ciudad Real), have inaugurated the refurbishment of this church, located in the municipality of Valdepeñas in the province of Ciudad Real.

The public-private partnership has made possible the comprehensive recovery of the Santo Cristo church, after a complete refurbishment work was carried out over the last nine years (2011-2020).

The inauguration of the opening of the Santo Cristo de la Misericordia Church in Valdepeñas was attended by the president of the Iberdrola España Foundation, Mr Fernando García Sánchez, the parish priest of the church, Mr Emilio Jesús Montes Romero, the mayor of Valdepeñas, Mr Jesús Martín Rodríguez, and the sub-delegate of the government, Ms Ángeles Herreros Ramírez.

Iberdrola, through its foundation, has completed the refurbishment with the design and execution of the interior ornamental lighting of the church, highlighting the starting line of the central and lateral vaults as well as the central dome, highlighting the Latin cross composition of the church and its main decorative motifs, as well as highlighting unique elements such as the main altarpiece, altar and side chapel altarpieces with accent lighting. To this end, 68 luminaires have been installed (including spotlights and linear lights) with a total power of only 1,700W. The design of the project combines aesthetics and energy efficiency, making the use of the temple for religious worship and tourism compatible.

The project, which cost around 50,000 euros, is part of one of the main areas of activity of the Iberdrola Spain Foundation: cultural development and the conservation of historical and artistic heritage.

Iberdrola, with the promotion of art and culture

One of Iberdrola’s main areas of action, through its foundation in Spain, focuses on the care, conservation and enhancement of historical and artistic wealth. The main objective of the Lighting Programme is to develop interventions in unique buildings to install or improve their interior and/or exterior lighting systems in order to contribute to the enhancement of historical and artistic heritage.

Since 2011, the volume of investment allocated to the Lighting Programme has amounted to more than 3 million euros and has led to the improvement of more than 40 monuments in Spain, including the historic Roman Bridge of Alcántara in Cáceres, the façade of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, the Cathedral of Ávila, and the interior of the New Cathedral of Salamanca.

About the Church of Santo Cristo de la Misericordia in Valdepeñas.

It has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) since 1982, and its architectural style is that which predominated in the 16th century: Latin cross, with a single transept and central dome. The exterior alternates between tiled or rough brickwork, with mortar decorating the ordinary masonry walls.

The Santo Cristo de Valdepeñas Parish Church was closed to public worship on 8 April 1984, and its deterioration gradually increased after that date.

The first works began in 1995 with the restoration of the façade through a Workshop School carried out by the Consistory. Later, in 2011, at the proposal of the parish and its newly arrived parish priest, the project for the restoration of the roof, spire, construction of the sacristy, annexes and excavation in the old cemetery and interior restoration of walls, plasterwork and heating and lighting installations began under the direction of the Alia-Coronado Architecture Studio.