EXPERTS, SIBENIK RESIDENTS GREET INCLUSION OF SIBENIK CATHEDRAL IN WORLD HERITAGE LIST

SIBENIK, Dec 3 (Hina) - Sibenik's Cathedral of St. James is one of the few monuments which did not undergo changes, which was frequent especially during the period of Baroque. It is an exceptional example of Gothic-Renaissance stone construction, reads a report drawn up and sent to the International council for museums and galleries (ICOMOS) by the Sibenik Art Conservation Department more than a year ago. The cathedral, built between 1431 and 1536, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List last Thursday. The value of the Sibenik cathedral lies in the harmony of its shapes despite the fact that it is a combination of different styles. The cathedral is an exceptional artistic achievement, which in the 15th and 16th centuries significantly influenced the development of architecture, and is the only monumental building made of unique stone material. It is also the only European building dating back to before the 19th century - when the use of metal and reinforced concrete in construction started - which was not built but was put together from previously carved stone parts. The whole building and its front are particularly valuable because the trefoiled facade is the only functional solution for that type of facades in Europe, which is a 'trademark' of the early Renaissance architecture, reads the report. The inclusion of the Sibenik cathedral and the old city core in the World Heritage List completes the family of Croatian cultural heritage on the list, Croatia's Ambassador to UNESCO Vesna Girardi- Jurkic said. Assistant Culture Minister and the chief inspector at the Administration for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, Miljenko Domijan, said the Sibenik cathedral had been built by excellent builders - Juraj the Dalmatian and Nikola the Florentine - who created a masterpiece of visual arts in late Gothic period and the period of flourishing Renaissance. "I am proud that Croatian restorers from Sibenik and generally from the Culture Ministry's Administration for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, have with their work on the preservation and reconstruction of the cathedral, especially after it was damaged in the war, and with excellently prepared documentation, contributed to the cathedral's being inscribed on the World Heritage List," Domijan said. Sibenik residents are proud and welcome the inclusion of the Cathedral of St. James in the world heritage, mayor Frane Ceko said. Josip Cuzela, head of the Art Conservation Department of the State Administration for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage in Sibenik believes efforts to reconstruct the cathedral, which was hit in a 1991 attack of the former Yugoslav Navy on Sibenik, have also contributed to its being included in the list. Reconstruction works, which cost about two million kuna, were completed in 1997. Internationally renown experts on reconstruction and preservation of monuments visited Sibenik and studied the cathedral while the reconstruction works were in progress. One of their main objections was that there was no museum alongside the cathedral, which would contain documents and other materials witnessing the cathedral's history and maintenance. That is why this will be one of the first tasks of the Art Conservation Department, Cuzela said. (hina) rml