Icomos, órgano consultivo de la Unesco, defiende retirar los tubos de las gárgolas “sodomizadas” de Santiago

The International Council of Monuments and Sites (Icomos), a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) advisory body, defends the removal of the "sodomized" gutters from Santiago de Compostela's gargoyles. The intense and extensive controversy arose in the city due to this remedy for rainwater that traveled through metallic pipes along the Renaissance figures on the Hostal dos Reis Católicos' cornice.

The Comité Nacional Español del Icomos, Consejo Internacional de Monumentos y Sitios received the complaint from Apatrigal (Association for the Defense of Cultural Heritage of Galicia) and the association of neighborhood residents in the Historical Center earlier this spring. A dozen independent experts affiliated with the organization studied the case and concluded that the copper tubes inserted into the 16 gargoyles cannot be considered a definitive solution and less harmful alternatives must be sought.

There is, according to the "valuation report on the intervention in the gargoyles" signed by these heritage experts (and whose answer is not binding), an appreciable visual alteration. Although the called "metal lances" are effective in evacuating rainwater without damaging the other elements of the facade, their aesthetic impact must be taken into account.