The Brotherhood of the Ribbon opens the doors of “The treasure of the Virgin”, the new project with which it is intended to disseminate the historical and artistic heritage that the Brotherhood possesses in the Sanctuary. It is an exhibition space with which it is intended to give the environment a tourist dimension with appropriate facilities, which have been set up, turning it into a visitable area with information, a museum and souvenirs. A project financed by the Department of Tourism, Promotion of Huelva Abroad and the University of Huelva City Council with a budget valued at 105,000 euros.
“This is the most important tourist resource that Huelva has, the most visited space in the capital. Valuing all the heritage, the history, the belongings, and also the most legendary part of everything that is linked to the Virgin and the devotion of the Ribbon and its roots in Huelva is something very important and we must congratulate the brother mayor and its Governing Board for their drive and dedication. And we also have to congratulate all the belts and all the Huelva people because it is an emblematic, beautiful space and also a first-class tourist resource” declared the mayor of Huelva, Gabriel Cruz.
For his part, the Brotherhood’s Big Brother, Esteban Brito, declared that “it is a project that has been in the making for a long time. With the financial help of the Huelva City Council, it has finally taken shape and, above all, due to the work of the belt-makers who have been involved in body and soul so that this can go ahead. They have been here hours and hours so that today we can open the doors and we can show Huelva what is inside. I hope you like it and that it is a true milestone for Huelva, the first step for us to also have real cultural tourism”
Among the actions carried out for the Cinta treasure is the installation of a Pilgrim Reception Center in a space attached to the Sanctuary, in the area previously occupied by the souvenir shop, and the setting up of four exhibition rooms to permanently display the treasure of the patron saint of the capital. The first of the four rooms houses a sample of some of the items that the brotherhood uses in its processions and cults, such as rods, candlesticks, banners or skirts.
The second room is presented as the treasure of the Virgin and houses the most valuable items, such as jewelry and silverware. In addition, taking advantage of the corridor that connects room two with room four, a third room is created with a single exhibitor, which displays documents of interest, such as old novena books or statutes.
exhibitors for treasure
The last treasure room of the Ribbon, larger, collects in five exhibitors those textile and embroidered elements with a significant and historical character for the brotherhood. Pieces such as the Simpecado donated by the filial Brotherhood of Madrid, mitres of the Huelva bishops and other liturgical and civil elements offered to the Virgin are exhibited.
In addition, to exhibit the treasure, the necessary exhibition furniture has been acquired and adapted, including the exterior painting of the building and cloister; the design and production of interpretive exterior signage for the complex that can be visited, as well as the content and production of signage exhibition panels and support for tourist visits and informative brochures; in addition to the implementation of an audio guide system to improve accessibility and quality in visits, including the production of an audiovisual presentation of the heritage space as a reception.
For its part and at the expense of the request made by the Brotherhood of the Ribbon, the Huelva City Council has placed, in three roundabouts in the areas near the Sanctuary, information totems in homage to three representative figures of devotion to the patron saint of the city , each of which gives its name to one of those roundabouts.
The first one, located at the confluence of Avenida Diego Morón and Manuel Siurot with Cuesta de Cinta, reports on the figure of “Francisco Martín Olivares”, promoter of the festival of Nuestra Señora de la Cinta as initiator of the procession. .
The second, located at the confluence of Avenida Cristóbal Colón, Paseo Marítimo and Cuesta Nuestra Señora de la Cinta, is led by the “Shoemaker Juan Antonio”, in reference to the legend of the shoemaker who tells the origin of the devotion to the Virgin of tape. The last one, at the confluence of Caracas, San Bartolomé de la Torre, Obispo García Lahiguera and Río de la Plata streets, is focused on “Francisco de Leiva”, due to the impulse given by his figure to devotion to the patron saint .
