Field Dispatches
Find field dispatches about World Monuments Fund and its projects.
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Featured Dispatches
World Heritage Day Celebrated at Re-Opening Ceremony of Tomb Complexes in Delhi
April 19, 2013
Related Projects:
On April 18, World Heritage Day, the sixteenth-century garden tombs of Isa Khan Niyazi and Bu Halima were re-opened to the public by India’s Minister of Culture, Chandresh Kumari Katoch, and Bonnie Burnham, President of World Monuments Fund.
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Presentation of the Articulated Wall by Herbert Bayer
March 15, 2013
Related Projects: RUTA DE LA AMISTAD
The Articulated Wall was created by Austrian artist Herbert Bayer for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Composed of 33 solid concrete modules and standing at almost 60 feet, the sculpture represented Austria-USA in the Ruta de la Amistad. Two years after its creation, the lands surrounding the sculpture were sold and development engulfed the Articulated Wall, leaving it to all into disrepair.
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New Set of Tourist Literature for Delhi Heritage Route
February 25, 2013
Related Projects: DELHI HERITAGE ROUTE
Over the last two years, as part of the process of nominating the city of Delhi to the UNESCO World Heritage list, various activities have been initiated to generate awareness among the citizens of Delhi and the public at large. Publishing a set of tourist literature consisting of 20 booklets and 18 walking maps that cover the entire gamut of heritage sites in Delhi is one such initiative.
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Watch Day in Jacmel Historic District, Haiti
January 14, 2013
Related Projects: JACMEL HISTORIC DISTRICT
As I flew over Port au Prince last September, almost three years after the devastating earthquake that killed a quarter of a million people in 2010, I tried to find the blue tents that used to be everywhere in and around the city signaling the location of the homeless camps, and I saw with relief that they were mostly gone, although empty patches of recently cleared rubble filled the landscape instead.
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Watch Day in Remedios, Cuba
January 14, 2013
Related Projects: PARISH CHURCH OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA DE LOS REMEDIOS
I arrived in Havana on a hot day last September and stayed overnight at the postmodernist Telégrafo Hotel, located at the corner of Prado and Neptuno streets, a place known as the birthplace of the cha-cha-cha, a style of Cuban music that became popular in the 1950s. Early the next morning, I left for the town of Remedios, located in the middle of the country, 320 kilometers east of the capital.
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Everybody Wants to Visit Todosantos
December 10, 2012
Related Projects: TODOS SANTOS COMPLEX
A few years ago, before the inclusion of the religious complex of Todosantos in the 2010 World Monuments Watch “nobody knew Todosantos, but now everybody wants to visit it,” says Ramiro Endara, Executive Director of Conservartecuador, the preservation group that nominated the site.
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Namgyal Institute for Research on Ladakhi Art & Culture Awarded Global Vision Award
September 21, 2012
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The Namgyal Institute for Research on Ladakhi Art & Culture (NIRLAC) has won a 2012 Global Vision Award for preservation for work at Sumda Chun, a twelfth-century Tibetan Buddhist monastic complex in the Indian Himalayas.
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An Overview of the Three-Year Youth Heritage Training Program in Andahuaylillas, Peru
September 20, 2012
Related Projects: SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL DE ANDAHUAYLILLAS CHURCH
Travel + Leisure announced on September 21 that Grupo Patrimonio Cultural has won a 2012 Global Vision Award for conservation work on the sixteenth-century Church of San Pedro Apóstol, which started in 2009 under the auspices of the parish of Andahuaylillas and World Monuments Fund.
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Update on Work at the Church of the Holy Savior, Ani, Turkey
August 27, 2012
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The Church of the Holy Savior, or Surp Amenap’rkitch, located in eastern Turkey within the Ani Archaeological Site, was built in 1035 on the orders of Prince Abulgharib Pahlavuni to house a piece of the True Cross. The church’s design is unique, with 19 external sides, an octagonal interior, and a huge central dome supported by a tall drum. The church remained largely intact until 1930, when it was struck by lightning and the entire eastern half collapsed.
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Heritage in the Crosshairs
August 21, 2012
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The evolving tragedy in Syria has a deep cultural, as well as a humanitarian, dimension. Aleppo, which has been mercilessly shelled and bombed for the last two weeks, is one of the world’s greatest cultural ensembles, a place where civilizations from the Hittites to the Ottomans left their mark.
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New Door at Kilwa Kisiwani Marks Completion of Preservation Project
June 20, 2012
Related Projects: HISTORIC SITES OF KILWA
The installation of a new carved door marks the completion of preservation work at the Portuguese gereza, or fort, at Kilwa Kisiwani in southern Tanzania. The project commenced in late 2009 with a grant from WMF’s Robert W. Wilson Challenge to Preserve Our Heritage.
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Sunset Views and Sustainable Tourism Concerns at Angkor
March 14, 2012
Related Projects: PHNOM BAKHENG
Sustainable Tourism is an important element of WMF’s work and a critical message around the world as heritage sites balance protecting fragile, historic materials and providing a safe and pleasant experience for tourists. High tourist season at Angkor brought some unexpected problems to ongoing conservation at Phnom Bakheng, one of the oldest temples in Angkor Archaeological Park. Hordes of tourists disregarded barriers, multilingual warning signs, and guards, climbing onto and over delicate brick shrines, a fragile stone wall, and approached active work areas to have a view of the sunset.
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Young Heritage Promoters in Andahuaylillas, Peru: Past Achievements and Future Challenge
February 16, 2012
Related Projects: SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL DE ANDAHUAYLILLAS CHURCH
In 2009 major conservation work was initiated on the sixteenth-century Church of San Pedro Apóstol in Andahuaylillas, a town in the Peruvian Andes. The local parish and World Monuments Fund, partners in the endeavor to preserve this historic monument, understood early on that a meaningful involvement of the community was necessary to lend depth and sustainability to their efforts. In this sense they launched a three-year pilot program with the objective of encouraging local youth to actively participate in the study, protection, and advancement of their cultural heritage.
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Phase I Work Completed at Ani Archaeological Site
January 19, 2012
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World Monuments Fund and the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage and Museums, Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, are partnering to document, stabilize, and conserve two of the most significant and visible structures at Ani Archaeological Site, Ani Cathedral and the Church of the Holy Savior (Surp P’rikitch). The Church of the Holy Savior project is supported through a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassodor’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.
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2012: The Year of Jacmel
January 13, 2012
Related Projects: JACMEL HISTORIC DISTRICT
Jacmel’s historic district was included on the 2012 World Monuments Watch because of uncertainty about the fate of more than 100 historic buildings damaged in the 2010 earthquake. In the following field dispatch, advocate Louise Lo Presti describes a great new development for the city.
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Isa Khan’s Tomb: Conservation & Garden Restoration
November 16, 2011
Related Projects: ISA KHAN’S COMPLEX AT HUMAYUN’S TOMB
Isa Khan’s tomb (A.D. 1547) has often been considered, including by some experts, as a minor tomb within the Humayun’s Tomb complex (a World Heritage Site), and comparisons with the much grander later building have been made without an understanding of the smaller building’s enormous cultural significance.
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Save Our Culture
November 2, 2011
Related Projects: EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE HERITAGE SITES
On November 2 in Tokyo, World Monuments Fund and the Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research launched Save Our Culture (SOC), an international effort to help cultural heritage sites affected by the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
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Conservation and New Discoveries at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
August 29, 2011
Related Projects: THE MORTUARY TEMPLE OF AMENHOTEP III
A team of conservators recently wrapped up its 13th season of work at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III. The group made steady progress this past spring in stabilizing, cleaning, documenting, and restoring various sections of the ruined temple.
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Andahuaylillas Dia Del Patrimonio
July 26, 2011
Related Projects: SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL DE ANDAHUAYLILLAS CHURCH
The WMF-sponsored conservation work on the church of Andahuaylillas, which is often described as the heart of the neighborhood, acted as a catalyst for a subsidiary project focusing on the development of the community itself.
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Chile Mission Dispatch
June 29, 2011
Related Projects: IGLESIAS DE ARICA PARINACOTA (CHURCHES OF ARICA PARINACOTA)
Seeing the churches of Arica-Parinacota come back to life through the efforts of Fundacion Altiplano, and their Chilean, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, German, and North American experts, is satisfying. World Monuments Fund is proud to have a role in the revitalization of these communities.
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WMF Congratulates John Stubbs on Tulane Appointment
June 11, 2011
World Monuments Fund congratulates John Stubbs on his appointment at Tulane University as Senior Professor of Architectural Practice and the Director of the MS Program in Preservation Studies.
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LOROPENI – BURKINA FASO
May 23, 2011
Related Projects: LOROPENI RUINS
Solving unique challenges while taking extreme care to not overwhelm or obliterate its intangible character, WMF’s project at Loropeni was successfully completed in November 2010.
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Inauguration Ceremony at Zamość Synagogue
May 9, 2011
Related Projects: ZAMOŚĆ RENAISSANCE SYNAGOGUE
The restored synagogue was dedicated on April 5, 2011. As there is no Jewish population in Zamość now, the synagogue will not serve as a house of prayer. Rather, it will serve the needs of Jewish visitors to Zamość as well as its inhabitants.
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Carol A. Rodley, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Visits Phnom Bakheng
March 25, 2011
Related Projects: PHNOM BAKHENG
Glenn Boornazian, Director of Projects at Angkor for World Monuments Fund, joined the United States Ambassador to Cambodia, Carol A. Rodley, and her guests at Phnom Bakheng to review conservation work in progress.
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Ten-Year Anniversary of the Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas
March 7, 2011
Related Projects: BUDDHIST REMAINS OF BAMIYAN
March 2011 marks the ten-year anniversary of the destruction of the colossal Buddhas in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan.
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Climbing Great Buildings
February 24, 2011
A BBC architecture series featuring WMF Britain Chief Executive Jonathan Foyle recently won “Best Daytime Series” at the 2011 Broadcast Awards.
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Update from Egypt
February 24, 2011
Related Projects: LUXOR TEMPLE
Theban monuments are intact, and our mission continues to work at Kom el Hettan without any incident and without threat of imminent danger.
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Report on Work at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
February 24, 2011
Related Projects: THE MORTUARY TEMPLE OF AMENHOTEP III
The 400-ton torso of the North Colossus of Amenhotep III at the Second Pylon was transported on a ramp 9.5 meters towards its original place and is now lying near and parallel to its pedestal.
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International Workshop for Qusayr 'Amra
February 22, 2011
Related Projects: QUSAYR 'AMRA
Qusayr ‘Amra is a lodge and bath house built during the Umayyad period in the mid-eighth century. Its interiors are covered with mural paintings representing hunting and bath scenes, artisans at work, a zodiac, and other scenes of court life.
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Seventeenth-Century Painting Materials Discovered in Historic Peruvian Church
December 17, 2010
Related Projects: SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL DE ANDAHUAYLILLAS CHURCH
Our conservation team finds a ceramic container filled with ochre pigment, a wood and hair brush, and a wooden stick.
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Torino: Restoration Central in Italy 2010-11
December 10, 2010
John H. Stubbs, Vice President, Field Projects, reports on a number of impressive architectural restoration projects in Torino, Italy to mark the upcoming celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, slated for April 2011.
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The Structural Repair of the West Gopura IV
September 2, 2010
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WMF’s work at Preah Khan enters a new phase with the commencement of the conservation of the West Gopura tower.
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Field School Lays Foundation for Church's Rejuvenation
August 10, 2010
Related Projects: DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
The 5-week field school at the historic Dutch Reformed Church concludes this week in a ceremony outside the church in Newburgh, NY.
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Tower Would Forever Alter Historic Skyline
July 30, 2010
Related Projects: HISTORIC LANDSCAPE OF SEVILLA
Despite an outcry from local and international presersvation groups, the Spanish bank CajaSol has broken ground on a 180-meter-high office tower in Sevilla. If built, the building, designed by Cesar Pelli, will overshadow Sevilla Cathedral's tower, which for 800 years has been the tallest structure in the city.
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Mission to Port-au-Prince
February 24, 2010
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Following the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, WMF Program Director for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Norma Barbacci traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and reports that scores of monumental public buildings, including the Government Palace, as well as many of the most important churches, lay in ruins.
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Mission to Santo Domingo and Jacmel
February 18, 2010
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The aftershocks of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12 were still being felt three weeks later when, from February 3 to 6, 2010, WMF Program Director for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, Norma Barbacci, joined an international mission to Santo Domingo and Jacmel.
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Earthquake in Haiti
February 12, 2010
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As the people of Haiti recover from this catastrophe, WMF is committed to helping in recovery efforts, bringing our expertise in disaster response to this devastated country. We will be coordinating our work in Haiti with HELP (Haitian Education & Leadership Program), the group that nominated the Gingerbread Houses of Port-au-Prince to the 2010 Watch.
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Illuminating St. George’s Bloomsbury
December 18, 2009
Related Projects: ST. GEORGE’S BLOOMSBURY
The installation of a 17th-century Dutch chandelier this November marked the completion of WMF Britain’s seven-year, nine-million-pound restoration project at St. George’s Bloomsbury, master architect Nicholas Hawksmoor’s sixth and last London church.
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Locals Celebrate Placement of Ujumbe Palace on 2010 Watch
December 14, 2009
Related Projects: UJUMBE PALACE
In the Comoros Islands, an African archipelago near Madagascar, the local community of Mutsamudu celebrated the placement of Ujumbe Palace on the 2010 World Monuments Watch.
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Cloister of St. Trophime
November 13, 2009
Related Projects: CLOISTER OF ST. TROPHIME
For the last year, WMF has participated in a number of on-site meetings to analyze the columns and capitals that form the cloister of St. Trophime and determine the best methods for cleaning, repairing, and maintaining the structure.
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Convent of San Clemente, Spain
August 10, 2009
WMF has begun fieldwork at the medieval Spanish convent of San Clemente, just outside the city walls of Toledo.
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Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria
August 4, 2009
Related Projects: ABBEY OF SAN CLEMENTE A CASAURIA
WMF has taken on a two million-dollar project at the medieval Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria, which was badly damaged in the April 6, 2009, earthquake that struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy.
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L'Aquila, Italy
April 6, 2009
World Monuments Fund mourns the lives lost following the earthquake in the historic city of L'Aquila, Italy, on April 6, 2009
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