The Cultural Affairs Bureau (also known by its Portuguese initials IC) has announced it will carry out maintenance work at two of Macao’s most iconic architectural sites this week: the Guia Lighthouse and the Ruins of St. Paul’s.
The IC noted it would conduct “regular weeding and [an] inspection of bronze statues of the former Mater Dei Church” – another name for the Ruins of St Paul’s – from 6 am to 6 pm on Tuesday.
The whole site will be closed to the public that day, with barricades installed on the ruins’ forecourt and staircase to ensure public safety, IC said.
[See more: Conservationists say not enough is being done to protect the Guia Lighthouse]
Meanwhile, restoration work on the Guia Lighthouse’s exterior starts today and will run until the end of May. Scaffolding will surround the UNESCO World Heritage structure during this time, and certain areas of the complex will be closed, the IC said. However, the fortress and chapel will remain open to the public with their opening hours unchanged.
UNESCO recently declined to help an activist group who claim that a tall building under construction near Guia Lighthouse would cause “permanent and irreversible” damage to the 17th-century structure’s environs.
The Paris-based organisation did acknowledge it was aware of the issues raised by the group and said that it was involved in discussions with the various stakeholders regarding the lighthouse.
