Santander Cemetery’s Award-Winning Pardo Pantheon Undergoes Restoration
SANTANDER – The Pardo โฃfamily pantheon in the Ciriego cemetery isโข receiving critical restoration work following years of deterioration.The structure, named “Best Monument of the Cemeteries of Spain” in 2025, features significant fresco paintings by โGerardo de Alvear that โare now undergoing conservation.
The โฃSantaโ Marรญa de Toraya Foundation, dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Cantabrianโ art and heritage, is leading the project. Restorer Lydia Quevedo explained the initial phase โfocuses on stabilizing โexistingโ paint layers. “The first thing we do is โfix all the existing polychromy so as not to lose anythingโฃ at all. Subsequently,we will clean small stainsโฆand then we will โintervene,” she said.
The pantheon’sโค dome depicts a celestial vault with four praying angels in red, purple, green, and orange.Much of the blue sky paint has flaked away, revealing the โขstone beneath, and the angels’ features are faded and chipped.
The Pardo pantheon was added to municipal heritage in 2018, triggering a preservation plan. An initial intervention by corten focused on exterior repairs to eliminate water leaks threatening the interior artwork. The current interior work represents the next phase in securing the long-term survival โof this notable Santander landmark.
