At the foot of the Great Cross in the Quergamuros Valley, known until October 2022 as the Valley of the Fallen, is one of the most impressive sculptural complexes in the country, La Pieda, flanked by the Virtues and Evangelists of Juan de Ábalos. … Entrance to the cathedral. Nothing has moved yet, but the project the government has chosen to “reregister” the site promises to change everything. The access, the scenery, and maybe even the mountain itself. But then you’re left with more questions than convictions.
Yesterday, Iñaki Carnicello, Director General of the Secretariat for Urban Policy, Housing and Architecture, announced that the winner has been selected in the government’s open call to redefine this monumental complex. The selected proposal, dubbed ‘Plinth and Cross’, initially proposes abolishing the access staircase to the cathedral, building an interpretive center to explain its history, and opening a ‘large chasm’ across the promenade from side to side. According to the authors, it is a “symbolic wound in the ground that seeks to break through axiality and foster a space for encounter and dialogue.”
The mountain was split in two
It is precisely this “crack” that is one of the elements that raises the most questions. The official explanation does not make clear whether this is a superficial intervention on the ground, a symbolic imprint, or whether it involves the actual destruction of the mountain rock on which the cross stands, a 150-meter-tall structure visible from more than 40 kilometers away. “At this point, we are not sure whether the mountain will split in two,” a Ministry of Housing source told the ABC, suggesting that the “imagined crack” seen in the model that would split the entire site is an “opening” to see part of the interior, but that this is not a project currently being considered to make that a reality.
It is explained that the public will pass through a “large board” to access a circle “open to the sky” that will allow “reorganization of the circulation” and from there enter the interior of the cathedral, where “minimum intervention” will take place, although it does not specify which intervention.
Model of the project “Base and Cross”
Another great mystery concerns the carvings. The model presented yesterday left it open to interpretation whether the Great Cross sculpture group would disappear. The Ministry of Housing and the Archdiocese of Madrid insist to the ABC that parts of Ábalos will not be removed. “Nothing will be removed. It will be contextualized, the environment will be improved, it will be better integrated, but it will not be desecrated,” they assured, also stressing that the Church has always “cooperated” in the selection of projects.
Regarding the model presented, they claim that it is a “minimalist and environmentally friendly” proposition. “This is a low-key representation with simple lines and no details, designed to give the general context of the project,” they explain.
“Courageous” project
During the presentation, Carnicello defended the winning proposal as offering a “new vision” for the monument. “This is a project that very bravely confronts the monumentality of the existing complex. “It proposes to make nature and architecture more prominent, to break the axiality that characterized this space, to create large shadows, large cracks that encourage dialogue, and a more pluralistic and democratic vision,” he said. However, changes to Quergamroth are still up in the air, as Housing has assured that “only ideas will be approved, there will be no draft project”, which will be determined at the next stage of the competition.
Model of the project “Base and Cross”
The world budget has ended: 30 million euros. Four of these will be allocated to the competition and drafting of the project, and 26 million will be allocated to the complete development of the reimagination, including the construction of a new interpretive center and museum. The government aims for the venue to be a “gathering space full of activity and people” with a “pluralistic, inclusive and contemporary” look. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.
The project to “resign” Quelgamroth cannot be understood without a legal framework to protect it. The venue’s name change took place in October 2022 following the approval of the Democratic Memory Law promoted by the PSOE government and Unidas Podemos. This regulation officially replaced the name Valley of the Fallen with the name Quergamuros Valley, in an attempt to separate the site from Franco’s exaltation and the victims of the civil war. The measures included investigations into crimes committed during the 1936 coup, war and dictatorship, as well as the exhumation in November 2019 of the bodies of Francisco Franco and other regime figures.
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