Spain, street art inside 14th century hermitage: the artist now faces a penalty

A Spanish street artist, Jesús Cees Faura, faces prosecution and a penalty for covering the white walls of the San Cristóbal hermitage in Alcoy, a Spanish city of about sixty thousand inhabitants near Alicante, with murals. The facts date back to 2020: according to the reconstruction by the daily El Periodico, Cees Faura had asked the municipal administration for permission to restore the small 14th-century hermitage, which is located in an impervious place (it is situated on the top of a rise overlooking Alcoy, among the mountains of the Sierra de Mariola, at an altitude of almost 1,000 meters, and can only be reached on foot), but received a negative opinion because the intervention proposed by Cees Faura was considered “discordant” with the style of the hermitage, which although bare still retains its ancient forms. The municipality’s report states that, “without despising” Cees’s project, the technicians thought it was “anachronistic” and could affect the building’s “original pigments.”

The artist, however, allegedly acted on his own initiative anyway and against the advice of the authority, covering the hermitage, which is a protected cultural asset under Spanish laws, with murals. It took Cees Faura four months to finish his work, and in the meantime, moreover, many lovers of mountain walks have had the opportunity to see the works (images of Cees Faura’s murals can be found on various social accounts, blogs, and amateur sites, and many moreover have shown their appreciation for them). The artist, moreover, posted photos of his work on his Instagram account.

Now, two years later, the municipality of Alcoy has announced that it has opened a file on the case: the fascisol has been forwarded to the General Directorate of Culture and Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, and the street artist risks a financial penalty, but Cees Faura says he does not fear a fine and says his intent is to complete the work (which is reportedly still unfinished). According to ABC newspaper, Cees Faura could not resist being carried away by his “inspiration” and therefore acted against the advice of the municipality.

Spain, street art inside 14th century hermitage: the artist now faces a penalty

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