In all its glory: Santiago de Compostela unveils newly restored Portico de la Gloria
The Spainish cathedral of Santiago de Compostela has inaugurated its newly restored Portal of Glory.
"We are still waiting for them to reply, but there is no doubt they do transmit life.”
Regional President of Galicia
Political, cultural and religious officials were in attendance as Spain's Queen Sofia unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.
The ceremony brought an end to a painstaking, multimillion-euro, decade-long project to restore the Romanesque gate's original polychrome splendor.
“We are still waiting for them to reply, but there is no doubt they do transmit life,” Galicia's regional president Alberto Nuñez Feijoo said, referring to the stone figures of apostles and prophets carved in to the portico.
Spain's Minister of Culture highlighted this restorationas “an example” of a multidisciplinary approach to preserving the country’s cultural legacy.
The gate dates back to 1211 and will be open to the public from July 27.
Further restoration work inside the cathedral is expected to begin in October.
