The Police of the Generalitat Valenciana has sent its statement to the Alicante Prosecutor’s Office so that it can open a judicial investigation against a man who painted seven murals without authorization and the interior vault of the hermitage of San Cristóbal de Alcoy, declared an Asset of Local Relevance.
The alleged perpetrator of a crime against historical heritage acted disobeying the prohibition of the City Council of the town of Alicante, which had denied him permission to intervene in the enclosure. Now, the artist faces a fine, in addition to having to pay the cost of repairing the damage caused to the protected walls of the hermitage.
As reported by the autonomous body, the agents of the Heritage unit located this citizen after he himself went a few months ago to different local media to tell how he had decorated this protected 14th-century hermitage, located in the Sierra de Mariola, during the summer of 2020.
Despite the prohibition of the town hall, he acknowledged having painted seven murals and the interior vault because, as he told the police, “restlessness and inspiration were stronger.”
In his testimony as an investigator, the man confirmed that he was aware that the hermitage of San Cristóbal, due to its historical value, enjoys protection as an Asset of Local Relevance. As he explained, he was unable to finish his intervention because he fell from the scaffolding he was using, located five meters high, and broke both wrists.
The regional secretary for Security and Emergencies, José María Ángel, has pointed out that the surveillance and protection tasks carried out by these agents “have been key in the resolution of this case and, as in others, must be marked as a priority to avoid the looting and damage to artistic assets that must continue to transmit our culture and historical heritage generation after generation.
Ángel has also highlighted the importance of the work of “a police force of the Generalitat that is essential to prevent criminal actions and fight against organized crime in a sector that moves a volume of black money around the world comparable to arms or human trafficking” .
2
