Still waiting for restoration work on Annunziata bell tower to start
Annunziata
16 Feb 2022
/ 20:17
CORFU. The contractor of the project has been removed, while the process to place the second contractor in line has been initiated.
Restoration work on the Annunziata bell tower had been stopped for several months, following the abrupt termination of the contract last autumn. The contractor of the project has already been removed, as they were unable to meet their contractual obligations, while the process to place the second contractor in line has been initiated, in order to complete the work on this important monument.
Corfu ND MP Stefanos Gikas met with the Director of the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-byzantine Monuments Themistocles Vlachoulis in Athens, where he got informed on the issue. “The first contractor was removed because they could not meet the needs of the project, which the second contractor accepted to undertake.
The new contractor has been informed about the project, has experience when it comes to this area and has undertaken other projects,” Mr. Gikas told Enimerosi, estimating that by March they will be in place, in order to start the restoration of the Annunziata bell tower.
What happened
The contract with the first contractor had been signed on 26 November 2019 and they had been placed a few months later, on 25 February 2020. The project for the restoration of the Annunziata bell tower had initially been started with funds from the Public Investment Programme and then, on 11 August 2020, it had been included in the Operational Programme ‘Ionian Islands 2014-2020’ with a budget of €312,976 and the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-byzantine Monuments as the implementing body.
The aim of the project was to restore the great and protected monument so that it will be functional for the residents and the numerous visitors of the island, but also so that it will stop being dangerous for anyone passing by.
The first preparatory work started gradually and some steps were taken. But last autumn they were stopped abruptly and the contractor was officially removed on 7 October 2021.
The dilapidated monument is now waiting for the work to start in order to gain its lost glory back.
The work
The work to be carried out as part of the project includes reinforcing the walls, jointing, fixing cracks, restoring certain parts of the tower, installing new stainless-steel tractors, reinforcing domes, coatings, repairing the entrance staircase, constructing floors, windows, doors and internal staircase, repairing the bell system, creating an excavated burial area and hanging signs.
History
The Church of Evangelistria or Annunziata in Corfu was built at the end of the 14th century. Two centuries later, in 1571, the remains of Christian fighters from various European regions, who were killed in the Nafpaktos Naval Battle, were buried in the building. The wounded of the naval battle were hospitalised in buildings that belonged to the church. Among them was also the Spanish national poet Miguel de Cervantes.
The church was destroyed by German bombings in 14 September 1943 and since then only the church’s bell tower has remained intact.
Corfu ND MP Stefanos Gikas met with the Director of the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-byzantine Monuments Themistocles Vlachoulis in Athens, where he got informed on the issue. “The first contractor was removed because they could not meet the needs of the project, which the second contractor accepted to undertake.
The new contractor has been informed about the project, has experience when it comes to this area and has undertaken other projects,” Mr. Gikas told Enimerosi, estimating that by March they will be in place, in order to start the restoration of the Annunziata bell tower.
What happened
The contract with the first contractor had been signed on 26 November 2019 and they had been placed a few months later, on 25 February 2020. The project for the restoration of the Annunziata bell tower had initially been started with funds from the Public Investment Programme and then, on 11 August 2020, it had been included in the Operational Programme ‘Ionian Islands 2014-2020’ with a budget of €312,976 and the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-byzantine Monuments as the implementing body.
The aim of the project was to restore the great and protected monument so that it will be functional for the residents and the numerous visitors of the island, but also so that it will stop being dangerous for anyone passing by.
The first preparatory work started gradually and some steps were taken. But last autumn they were stopped abruptly and the contractor was officially removed on 7 October 2021.
The dilapidated monument is now waiting for the work to start in order to gain its lost glory back.
The work
The work to be carried out as part of the project includes reinforcing the walls, jointing, fixing cracks, restoring certain parts of the tower, installing new stainless-steel tractors, reinforcing domes, coatings, repairing the entrance staircase, constructing floors, windows, doors and internal staircase, repairing the bell system, creating an excavated burial area and hanging signs.
History
The Church of Evangelistria or Annunziata in Corfu was built at the end of the 14th century. Two centuries later, in 1571, the remains of Christian fighters from various European regions, who were killed in the Nafpaktos Naval Battle, were buried in the building. The wounded of the naval battle were hospitalised in buildings that belonged to the church. Among them was also the Spanish national poet Miguel de Cervantes.
The church was destroyed by German bombings in 14 September 1943 and since then only the church’s bell tower has remained intact.
