Culture Minister inspects condition and planned restoration works at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

Georgian Culture Minister Maia Bitadze visited Svetitskhoveli Cathedral to assess its current condition on site and receive an update on planned restoration.

The Minister was accompanied by First Deputy Minister Mikheil Kiknadze, Deputy Minister Tamar Sharashidze, as well as the Director General of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation, Zaza Kvitsiani, First Deputy Director General Tea Oniani, the Superior of Svetitskhoveli Patriarchal Cathedral Archimandrite Seraphim (Chedia), Head of the Patriarchate’s ‘Green Georgia’ Fund Gocha Aroshenidze, and other stakeholders involved in the process.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, represents a monumental landmark of Georgian architecture. The research and conservation work on the monument will be carried out in compliance with international standards, with the active participation of both international experts and local specialists.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation has signed an agreement with the renowned Italian engineering and restoration firm Studio Berlucchi. The development of a diagnostic-research programme for the cathedral and the planning of multidisciplinary research works are already underway.

Studio Berlucchi is an organisation boasting extensive experience in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage and the engineering survey of historic buildings. Its international portfolio includes St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, La Fenice Opera House in Venice, Siena Cathedral, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and Sheki Khan’s Palace in Azerbaijan, the Divriği historic complex in Turkey, as well as the Gelati Monastery Complex, where the firm carried out scientific supervision and coordination of the conservation programme.