Historic downtown Mérida houses have historical value

In  the framework of the VI Symposium on Cultural Heritage of the City of Mérida, the municipal director of Urban Development, Aref Karam Espósitos pointed out that the municipality has started a census to establish in detail the value of these downtown properties and specify actions for their restoration and preservation.

“Merida is the city with the second largest historical center in Mexico. For that reason there is a wide range of properties and buildings that have a high historical value that must be preserved and restored”, he said.

“Some 1,500 facades of the historical center have been restored in order to provide our city with a better image of our downtown area that is world heritage”, he continued.

Aref Karam informed that this symposium held from January 24 to 26, the city of Mérida, included dialogues of civil organizations, conferences, photographic exhibitions, along with other cultural and artistic activities focused on the Meridano’s way of life and their expectations about the future.

On the other hand, the delegate of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Eduardo López Calzada, added that the remodeling of buildings in the historic center is a reality, and stated that INAH supports all owners of properties that need be remodeled in the downtown area.

To carry out a restoration work, a historical monuments’ permit must be processed, same thing for buildings adjoining historic monuments, and also in the case of buildings that are not considered historical monuments or adjoining them, but are located in the downtown area.

López Calzada said that based on the provisions of the Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Areas and its regulations, for the realization of any type of remodeling or restoration work on a building considered as a historical monument, they require the explicit authorization of the National Institute of Anthropology and History: INAH.

Source: laverdadnoticias.com