The Church's New Facade - Preparing the Surface

The other evening Gorbio celebrated the inauguration and blessing of the new church facade but we are going back to the beginning - six months ago - so we can see each step of the work in progress and at the end, we'll see an incredible work of art.

Gorbio's church (the photo below shows it before the renovation) was built in 1694 but, at the time, the village was poor and the masons, who came from Sospel, were never fully paid and so the facade was never finished.

Last year, the inhabitants of the commune of Gorbio (the village and the valley) were given the chance to vote on one of six designs. Tomorrow I'll show you the winning design.

In the main photo and the small photo (taken in April), the render has been removed, right back to the original stone. Now the facade is being covered in several layers of enduit (a special coating) ready for the artisan to start his work on the trompe l'oeil design.

Do come back tomorrow...