After the domes in the left aisle and in the two side apses, the works to clean and restore the central dome of the Church of Gethsemane were completed last week. The splendid gold and glass mosaics are once again shining, thanks to the patient work of the local young mosaic artists who took part in the training course on restoration.
Works are now proceeding on the second dome in the right aisle, the one containing the symbol of Germany (in each of the domes there is a symbol testifying to the link with individual countries or Commissariats of the Holy Land, and their contributions to the construction of the church).
The project “Gethsemane: preserving the past and training the future” – coordinated by ATS pro Terra Sancta with the collaboration of the Mosaic Centre of Jericho and supported by the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem – is a project in which restoration goes hand in hand with training. The aim is in fact to preserve in the best possible manner this beautiful church, which during the period of Lent is visited by even more pilgrims than normal, while at the same time providing local youths with the opportunity to learn the art of mosaic restoration.
