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Spanish Supreme Court orders return of Sijena murals to Aragón within 20 working days

Aragonese government stands ready to oversee the transfer, with experts warning that the relocation could harm the fragile frescoes.

Detalle de las pinturas murales del Monasterio de Sijena expuestas en el Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
La sala del MNAC donde se encuentran las pinturas murales de Sijena
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Exposición actual de las pinturas murales de Sijena en el museo catalán

Overview

  • The Supreme Court’s May 28 ruling mandates MNAC to hand over 43 medieval fresco fragments to the Sijena monastery within 20 working days of the judgment’s delivery to the Huesca court.
  • Aragón’s president and cultural teams have a technical plan for dismantling, transport and reinstallation and will intervene if MNAC does not comply voluntarily.
  • MNAC’s conservation chief and Generalitat officials have cautioned that vibrations and environmental changes during the move could inflict irreversible damage on the century-old murals.
  • Judges stipulated that MNAC and the Catalan government must bear all costs of the transfer, prompting disputes over who is responsible for funding and logistics.
  • Barcelona City Council passed an institutional motion backing MNAC’s preservation criteria, and the ANC is preparing protests and legal challenges to halt what it calls a cultural atrocity.