Panama's Plaza de Francia to Close for $6.9 Million Restoration

Plaza de Francia in Panama City's historic Casco Antiguo will be closed to the public for about two years as the Ministry of Culture undertakes a $6.9 million restoration project. The comprehensive plan aims to restructure the plaza's layout and redesign its green spaces, enhancing the presentation of the area's history and surroundings.

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We are going to be adapting drainage, electricity, and all the part of the vaults that are going to be restored, all the leaks will be seen, the obelisk of the Plaza de Francia and all the metal busts will be restored in the same way.

Ambar Zambrano, Director of the Office of Casco Antiguo, detailed the work, which includes adapting drainage and electrical systems, and restoring the plaza's vaults to address leaks. The obelisk and all metal busts within the plaza will also undergo restoration. The project extends to the entire staircase area, with particular focus on sections showing significant deterioration.

Specialists will conduct thorough inspections of the surrounding wall to identify and repair necessary sections while preserving its historical integrity. Zambrano explained that the process involves assessing the condition of the plaster and the initial mortar used to protect the underlying stone and calicanto structure. The restoration of the plaza's busts requires specialized chemical materials to carefully remove accumulated varnish and other residues from their surfaces.

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The work consists of verifying the condition of the plaster and the mortar that was initially applied to safeguard the entire infrastructure, which is the stone, the calicanto.

Jacinto Almendra, a restorer, noted that past restoration efforts were often empirical and sometimes altered artifacts, posing a challenge to preserving the metallic cultural heritage. The Ministry of Culture has allocated $6.9 million for the Plaza de Francia restoration.

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We have found in all the restoration work that has been done, they have been empirical and many times the interventions have altered the artifacts, therefore we are dealing with that problem that does not benefit the metallic cultural heritage at all.