Senseless graffiti in El Cotillo

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

The fine to the "graffiti artist of Tostón" could reach 600 thousand euros!

The Cultural Heritage Service of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura, coordinated by Rayco León, has inspected the vandalism attack suffered by the Asset of Cultural Interest of the Castillo del Tostón, located in the town of El Cotillo. The Island Corporation has activated the protocol of action once received the notice from the City of La Oliva.

 

As a result of the inspection, it is determined that the graffiti appeared on the morning of Monday, April 25, on the outside of the historical monument has dimensions of 7 meters long and each letter has 1.5 meters. The graffiti seriously affects the historical value given its large dimensions. The BIC has also appeared with smaller graffiti around the aforementioned one.

 

This service of the Cabildo has drawn up a record to report to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands, since it is considered a very serious damage and carries fines from 151,000 euros to 600,000 euros.

 

For the Minister of Historical Heritage, Rayco León, "in the face of an attack against the heritage of Fuerteventura like this one, there is no choice but to open all the appropriate proceedings to find those responsible for this serious crime against heritage".

 

According to León, both the Civil Guard and the inspection staff of the Ministry of Historical Heritage have already been analyzing and seeing what are the possibilities for the restoration of the damage. It is necessary to carry out different cleaning tastings to determine the most appropriate methodology for the restoration of the damage as it is a fragile heritage element and a type of porous stone that absorbs paint easily.

 
León also wants to remember "that there are many graffiti artists with patrimonial and artistic sensibility who are also harmed by this type of actions and demonstrate against this type of acts that are carried out by criminals who must be penalized."

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

An article from earlier in the day, Noticias:

Some unscrupulous painted during this past night a graffiti on one of the symbols of the majorera culture in the north of Fuerteventura. The tower of the Tostón appeared with a horrible painted with the word liberta, in what looks like a message written in Italian.

 

From the cultural associations of the well-known fishing enclave it is affirmed that "right now the only thing we want is to cry when we see such nonsense and assault on our patromonio. They have stained and shattered one of our emblems, part of our identity as a fishing village."

 

"From here with all our anger and sorrow we ask for the maximum possible collaboration to find all these scoundrels who have dedicated themselves to destroying all the heritage, we ask that all information they may have please send it to us, who has written the word "liberta" (it is written in Italian detail to take into account) definitely does not understand the meaning of that same word, this is not freedom this is a crime, which only a person with very little love, ethics and morals can do," they explain.

 

At the moment an investigation is demanded on the facts so that such a "savagery" does not go unpunished.

[GMT]

That must be an Italian politicized message. The word means "freedom" and is not a coincidence that it was done probably in the early hours of the 25th, as that day is bank holiday in Italy being the celebration of the liberation of Italy from nazism and fascism. Unfortunately, the north of Fuerteventura holds the most numerous community of Italians, about 4000, and as you can imagine amongst those 4000 there must be a few imbeciles who don't know any better way to celebrate such an important event.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

The residents of El Cotillo have announced on their social networks that the Cabildo will proceed to the hiring to proceed with the cleaning of the graffiti of the tower of El Tostón once the procedure is approved next week.

 

In this way the neighbors pronounce themselves in the social networks, "very good morning, we inform you that the Councilor of Heritage of the Cabildo has contacted us, to inform us that the project of elimination of graffiti is approved next week and later would go out to contract to proceed with its cleaning. We appreciate the willingness of the counselor and his entire team to carry out this process as soon as possible. We hope to see our Tostón tower clean and of course open to the public soon."

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

TIBICENA Archaeology and Heritage will be in charge of eliminating the graffiti of the Tostón

Historical Heritage gives the green light to the work to remove the graffiti of the Castillo del Tostón.

The Insular Commission of Historical Heritage has given the green light to the urgent award of the cleaning work of the graffiti suffered by a vandalism in the Castillo del Tostón, located in the town of El Cotillo. Being an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), the contracting of the work must have the approval of the Insular Commission, which has validated the project with the aim of promoting the recovery of this important element of the majorero cultural heritage.

 

In this way, the Island Corporation will award the tasks to the company TIBICENA Arqueología y Patrimonio, works that will be directed by a professional restorer.

The BIC Castillo del Tostón appeared on the morning of last Monday, April 25, with a graffiti on its outer part, of dimensions of 7 meters long. It is a serious attack against the historical value of this building, which also suffered smaller graffiti.

The Cultural Heritage Service of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura, coordinated by Rayco León, immediately inspected the vandalism attack, drawing up a report and reporting to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands. Once the damages are assessed, it is considered a very serious damage and that can lead to fines that could reach up to 600,000 euros.



Villaverde Cave

Likewise, the Insular Commission of Historical Heritage has given the green light to a new archaeological research campaign in the site of the Cave of Villaverde with funding from the City Council of La Oliva and the Government of the Canary Islands, through its General Directorate of Cultural Heritage.
The Cave of Villaverde, located in La Oliva, is one of the most important sites on the island. The BIC of the Cave of Villaverde is a volcanic tube with abundant vestiges of the past, discovered in 1979 and that yielded important knowledge about the prehistory of the Island.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

The Cabildo of Fuerteventura, through the Ministry of Tourism and the General Directorate of Tourism Infrastructures of the Government of the Canary Islands, puts out to tender the consolidation and restoration works of the project 'Rehabilitation of the Torre del Tostón', in the town of El Cotillo, municipality of La Oliva, for an amount that amounts to 163,120.92 euros. The deadline for submission of offers is open until next Wednesday, August 3, and can be made through the electronic headquarters of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura in the Section Profile of the Contractor.
 
With the aim of preserving the insular heritage of this building, declared a Historical Monument of Cultural Interest, the execution of these works pursue the adaptation and reinforcement of the façade of the Torre del Tostón, to put an end to the deterioration it is suffering in the gravel and stones that make it up, which houses an exhibition space and functions as a tourist information point for the enjoyment of residents and visitors of the island of Fuerteventura.
In this way, the action includes a series of actions that will affect the exterior façade of the building and its entrance. The works to be carried out include the cleaning of walls and stairs, surface sanitation of the small fragments of mortar that are already almost completely detached and relocation of the stones detached from the walls with specimens of the original black stones that are detached in the area, as well as the punctual replacement of three faced masonry, by new pieces of the same type of black stone of original volcanic lava that will be linked with pure lime mortar.
In addition, the application of two layers of mortar will be carried out for the washing of all the parameters and access ramp, one initial and one definitive. As for the pieces of wood that includes the Torre del Tostón, the pickling of varnish and a new varnish for the protection and final finish of the wood of the bridge and the door will be carried out in each of them. The specification also includes the replacement of two gates with more suitable ones and according to the environment, as well as the cleaning of the original metal parts with suitable material.
Finally, for the consolidation and completion of the work, a patina of Lime Water with natural mineral pigments will be applied to the entire façade, both to the area with original and to the new one. During the works, the exhaustive documentation of the rehabilitation process and activities carried out during the execution period must be carried out.
The president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Sergio Lloret López, has pointed out that "the restoration of the Torre del Tostón is an essential action to protect the historical and cultural heritage of Fuerteventura, so that it lasts over time and can be enjoyed by future generations". He also added that "this building is declared an Asset of Cultural Interest and is a tourist attraction for many people who visit the island".
For the Minister of Tourism, Jéssica de León "the Tostón tower is called to be a tourist attraction for El Cotillo, so this work is a priority for the Ministry of Tourism. In addition, adapting the tower and the environment will value this BIC of which both tourists and residents must know its history, as well as that of all the towers of the island to avoid that in the future attacks against our heritage are repeated ".
Interested companies can consult the tender files at the electronic headquarters of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura in the Contractor Profile in https://plyca.cabildofuer.es/licitacion/fichaExpte.do;jsessionid=TDwFbSJmgUlM73jlDT9I9oYp4kdhq4Scqux0eTLO?idExpediente=2855

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

The Torreón del Tostón, to look impeccable.

The Cabildo of Fuerteventura, through the Ministry of Historical Heritage, directed by Rayco León, executes these days the cleaning work of the graffiti suffered by a vandalism in the Castle of Tostón (Cotillo). The works were awarded to the company TIBICENA Arqueología y Patrimonio, with the aim of promoting the recovery of this important element of the majorero cultural heritage, anticipating its completion this Friday, September 30. Being an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), the contracting of the tasks has had the approval of the Insular Commission of Historical Heritage.

 

The works have been directed by a professional restorer and has required a rigorous process with different cleaning tastings to determine the most appropriate methodology for its restoration. This is due, above all, to the fragility of this heritage element and its construction in porous stone that absorbs paint easily.

 

The BIC of the Castillo del Tostón appeared with a graffiti on its exterior of dimensions of 7 meters long. The vandalism was a serious attack on the historical value of this building, which also suffered other smaller graffiti. Immediately, the Cultural Heritage Service of the Cabildo inspected the vandalism attack, assessing the damage as very serious.

 

The Castle of Tostón is located in the place occupied by the primitive Castle of Rico-Roque, built by Jean de Bethencourt. It was the work of the engineer Claudio de L'isle, who died in Fuerteventura shortly before finishing this fortification and the one located in Caleta de Fuste.

 
The structure is organized on a circular plan and houses two floors, the upper one presenting a vaulted roof. The enclosure is accessed by a stonework staircase that gives way to a drawbridge with iron chains. To the left of the entrance passage is the descent to the powder spare and next to it another room of little clarity, while on the right is the ascent to the esplanade in which the cistern is located to collect rainwater. In front of the entrance door were the outbuildings to accommodate up to twelve men and a small room. As the work progressed, the idea of surrounding the tower with a moat to be defended from a possible attack from the ground prevailed, but this moat would not be carried out.