The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will allocate a total of 496,972.18 euros to the contracting of works and services to repair the coffered ceiling of one of the rooms of the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, in order to prevent its deterioration from harming the structure of the property.
The decision was adopted in the Council of Ministers on Tuesday and will allow intervention in the structure of the framework of the Hall of Cardinals and the Hall of Bishops of the Monaldeschi Palace, also known as the Palace of Spain, which houses the headquarters of the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, in Rome.
The action, as explained by Foreign Ministry, is taken after the Embassy communicated to the General Subdirectorate of Patrimonial Affairs its concern about the advanced state of deformation of the coffered ceilings of the aforementioned room.
In response to the request, the Government, in compliance with article 120 of the Contract Law, accepted the granting of almost half a million euros for action through the emergency procedure, in order to “prevent the accelerated deterioration of the structural elements of the property puts at risk both the integrity of the property itself and the personnel who perform their duties and reside therein.”
Among those currently residing in the Palace of Spain, located in Piazza Spagna, in Rome, is the ambassador, Isabel Celáa, former spokesperson and Minister of Education of the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
The Spanish Embassy to the Holy See is the oldest permanent diplomatic mission in the world and has occupied the Monaldeschi Palace since the first half of the 17th century, an antiquity that makes it necessary to carry out numerous reforms.