In Valiug, in Caras-Severin County, an intervention that was thought to last three weeks has turned into a construction site now estimated to take approximately two years.

The Roman Catholic Church "Saint Francis of Assisi", built in 1861, preserves the memory of the Catholic community in Valiug, a town once known as Franzdorf. After the departure of many believers, the church remained increasingly closed. Since 2016, however, the Garana Jazz Festival concerts have once again brought hundreds of people within its walls.

The desire to repair the church brought together the festival, the community and the Banat Monuments Ambulance. However, once the work began, the building began to show how much help it actually needed.

The fungal attack on the wood, the damaged structure of the balcony and the problems discovered in the walls have changed the scope of the intervention. The priority is now to make the church safe.

The first episode of the new season "Who Listens to a House?" is about what happens when you really start listening to an old building. But especially about the people who choose not to go any further when they discover how complicated it is to save it.

With us, in Valiug:
• Simona Iovanescu – architect, coordinator of the Banat Monuments Ambulance
• Dragos Iovanescu – architect, Banat Monuments Ambulance
• Cora Daniela – volunteer
• Mihai Moldovan – volunteer team coordinator
• Cristian Bogdan Mocanu – church custodian
• Simona Giura – artistic director of the Garana Jazz Festival

What you see in the episode:
• the story of the Roman Catholic Church in Valiug and its connection with the local community;
• how an intervention initially estimated at three weeks turned into a much larger construction site;
• the problems discovered after the work began and why making it safe became a priority;
• how architects, craftsmen and volunteers work together around a vulnerable monument;
• the connection between the church and the Garana Jazz Festival and how music brought hundreds of people back inside it;
• what it can mean for a community for the door of such a place to remain open.

“I think the door should remain open.”

🟡 Tell us in the comments what other monument you would like us to “listen” to in the next episodes.
➠ SUBSCRIBE to the Cronicari Digitali channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@CronicariDig...

Credits & partners
Documentary series produced by the Human Made Art Association, part of the cultural project “Who listens to a house?”, 5th Edition, supported by the Order of Architects of Romania from the Architecture Stamp.
Partners: National Institute of Heritage, ASTRA National Museum Complex, "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanism, MATEK.
Media partners: Radio Romania Cultural, Zeppelin Magazine, Igloo Magazine.

​ @DigitalCroniclers @OrdinulArhitectilorDinRomania @institutulnationalalpatrim1000 @UAUIM-oficial @RadioromaniaculturalRo1 @e-zeppelin @igloo.magazine2023 @garanajazzfestival1254

#DigitalCroniclers #WhoListensAtHome #Valiug #banat #carasseverin #RomanoCatholicChurch #AmbulanceForMonuments #GaranaJazzFestival #heritage #restoration #Safety #volunteers #architecture #historicmonuments #romania