'Work is being carried out to international standards' — Georgia’s Gelati Monastery Rehabilitation Committee responds to criticism
Restoration of Georgia’s Gelati Monastery
The Temporary Committee for the Rehabilitation of Gelati has described reports circulating on social media and in the media about conservation work at the monastery as disinformation.
The committee said the disinformation was harming efforts to restore Gelati.
The Gelati Monastery complex is one of Georgia’s most important medieval cultural and religious monuments. King David IV, known as David the Builder, founded it in 1106.
The complex’s main church is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. In medieval Georgia, Gelati was not only a monastery but also an important centre of education and scholarship, home to the renowned Gelati Academy.
Recent reports and assessments have raised concerns about the condition of Gelati. The debate has focused on several issues:
- The church’s temporary roof, which critics have called “cellophane”;
- The risk of frescoes collapsing;
- Mould and condensation inside the church;
- The condition of the drainage system;
- Plans to install an underfloor heating system;
- Cooperation with the Italian institute Opificio delle Pietre Dure;
- The condition of the mosaics at Gelati.
What does the committee say?
The committee rejects claims that the Gelati Cathedral is covered with “cellophane”. According to the committee, the creation of a single temporary covering for the cathedral was one of the main requirements set by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre as early as 2020.
The committee says Georgian and German specialists jointly designed the roof. The authorities approved the project after considering several proposals. The covering uses a high-tech PVC-based material made in Germany specifically for Gelati. According to the committee, the material meets international conservation standards.
The committee also rejects reports of widespread loss of frescoes inside the cathedral. It says all critically damaged areas have been stabilised, while conservation work on the wall paintings is continuing in stages.
The statement also addresses Gelati’s historic drainage system. According to the committee, drainage channels built during the reign of David the Builder stopped functioning in 1510 after Ottoman forces burned the monastery. The committee says archaeological excavations also support this conclusion.
“For centuries, the drainage system was filled with earth, ash and coal,” the committee said.
The committee also responded to criticism over humidity and condensation inside the church. According to the committee, Italian professor Dario Camuffo conducted the study of Gelati’s microclimate. The committee considers him one of the recognised experts in the study of the microclimate of cultural heritage sites.
The committee explained that the problem at Gelati stems from the church’s massive walls, which retain the cold for a long time during winter. In spring, when outdoor temperatures rise and warm air enters the church, condensation can form on the walls and floor.
Camuffo suggested gradually heating the floor as one possible solution. However, the committee stressed that this remains a working hypothesis and requires further research before a final decision.
The committee also clarified the memorandum it signed with the Italian institute Opificio delle Pietre Dure. According to the committee, the “pilot restoration” provided for in the document does not mean conducting experiments at Gelati. Instead, it refers to pilot or trial restoration work, which is standard international practice.
“This is a widely accepted standard for restoring wall paintings. Before treating an entire fresco, conservators test the safety of the proposed conservation methods on a small, less visible area. Only after obtaining a positive result do they begin the full-scale process,” the committee said.
In a significant part of its statement, the committee also responded to critics and addressed allegations about the condition of the mosaics at Gelati.
According to the committee, experts already knew about the poor condition of the mosaics in 1989. The claim is based on an assessment by restorer Carlo Bakuradze at the time, who found that about 85% of the mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary had detached from its base.
The committee also criticised specialists who question the ongoing conservation work and reminded them of their own responsibility for Gelati’s condition in the past.
“It is cynical and hypocritical for people to question the quality of conservation work when, under their direct supervision, extensive water-infiltration problems emerged within just one year at the recently built Bagrati Cathedral — problems that persist to this day,” the statement said. The Temporary Committee for the Rehabilitation of Gelati urged critics not to try to damage the reputation of the ongoing work and to act according to professional ethics.
“We call on those pursuing certain subjective goals and agendas to refrain from attempts to discredit the conservation work carried out under the Gelati rehabilitation programme and deliberately mislead the public. We also call on them to return to the standards of common decency and professional ethics,” the committee said.
The committee concluded by stressing again that the work at the Gelati Monastery complex is unprecedented in scale, involves international experts and meets international conservation standards.
What happened at Gelati?
The main problem at Gelati Monastery is water and dampness, which have damaged the church’s wall paintings and mosaics over time. The situation became particularly serious after restoration work in recent years, including problems with the roof.
The problem became so serious that the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and its advisory bodies issued specific recommendations to Georgia. The authorities changed their approach to the restoration work in response to those recommendations and established the current Rehabilitation Committee.
A ruling by Georgia’s Supreme Court also notes that workers carried out roofing work at Gelati without an adequate expert assessment. The court found that problems with the materials used and the quality of the installation created a real risk of water entering the building.
Restoration of Georgia’s Gelati Monastery
