The Restoration And Revitalization Of The El Carmen Temple Of San Miguel De Santo Domingo

A Step In Conservation Of Earthen Architecture In Santo Domingo, Heredia, Costa Rica

Abstract

Intervening heritage works requires theoretical and technical knowledge as well as sensitivity to identify the construction processes and determine the actions to be
followed but respecting the learning process contained in the old techniques. The restoration is only one link in the process of conservation of the built heritage. Over the years, theories and criteria of restoration have evolved. However, in Costa Rica the subject has not been a priority axis within the state institutions or in the academy.
The conservation project of the El Carmen Temple in San Miguel de Santo Domingo
de Heredia, Costa Rica, aims to:
1. Promote further research and generate community interest for the 
enhancement of Land Architecture in the rest of the canton of Santo Domingo
de Heredia through awareness of the possibilities of restoration, demonstrated
through preliminary studies and restoration.
2. Reveal the values and meanings of movable cultural property that are part
of the heritage of the El Carmen Temple, by registering and recovering its
historical and symbolic values.
3. To establish strategies for the conservation and revitalization of the heritage complex that makes up the El Carmen Temple.