La Macarena is back in her basilica after four months of absencein the early morning of one of the most important days of the year for Seville, that of the Immaculate Conception. During this time was removed from worship for … to be restored by Pedro Manzano in the brotherhood’s premises. One month in treatment of anoxia and three others in what is the intervention itself which have become eternal for the brothers and devotees of the Virgin of Hope, but the painful one has regained all its splendor and returns to set foot on the soil of Seville to be venerated for three days.
Sadness ends and joy returns to the Macarena neighborhood because the Virgin has returned. Neighbors filled the streets with prints and photographs placed by San Gil parishioners, as well as large canvases with his face installed around the basilica announcing the image’s return. THE veneration It will last from this Monday between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. until Wednesday 10. On Tuesday and Wednesday, hours will be from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Thus ends one of the most complicated periods experienced by the Macarena brotherhood, motivated by the failed intervention undertaken by Professor Arquillo last summer, with that extraordinary municipal assembly in which the restoration of the Virgin by Pedro Manzano was approved, although not unanimously. These last few months have been particularly difficult within the company.also coinciding with the preludes and celebration of the municipal elections. Now, finally, everything is starting to return to normal in the Macarena.
María Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena is already waiting at the foot of the presbytery of the Basilica for the brothers and faithful who have longed for so long to find and venerate her.
📸Emilio Saenz pic.twitter.com/ALoesjjqHn
– Brotherhood of the Macarena (@Hdad_Macarena) December 8, 2025
Trailing commissions
This restoration was the subject of two monitoring commissions. The first, supervision, is composed of Antonio Rodriguez Babio (Delegate for Heritage of the Archbishopric of Seville), Jose Roda Pena (Professor of art history), Villa José Luis Gómez (head of the IAPH Intervention Center), Juan Manuel Miñarro Lopez (full professor at the University of Seville, Fine Arts and Conservation and Restoration, sculptor-imagineer) and Enrique Parra Crego (chemical).
The second, a working commission, was composed of Carmen Mañero Gutiérrez (full professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and doctor of Fine Arts), Araceli Montero Moreno (curator-restorer of the IAPH), Rocío Magdaleno Farm (curator-restorer of the IAPH), Eugenio Fernández Ruiz (IAPH imaging examination technician and radiologist), Enrique Gonzálvez González (expert in lineal supports), Manuel Pena Suárez (painter and polychromist), Esteban Sanchez Rosado (sculptor and image maker) and Emilio Saenz (photographer).
The restoration of Pedro Manzano
Throughout these three months, restaurateur Pedro Manzano, through the videos broadcast by the brotherhood, detailed the Macarena restoration process. The first phase consisted of treatment of anoxiaintended to resolve the attack of xylophages detected using imaging techniques. This process began when the image was removed from worship and ended in mid-September.
This intervention was carried out in order to “eliminate oxygen, a vital element for the tissues of living beings”. Among the existing types, the so-called anoxic anoxia was applied, which occurs when there is no oxygen available in the environment in which the object was located.
The second phase of the restoration consisted of the direct intervention of the image, focus first on problems detected using medical images, like the disagreement between the wood and even the possible attack that we observe at the back of the backleaving room for structural consolidation, and finally we will address the intervention on polychromy.
In addition, the wood pulp has been removed that the painful one had received during Arquillo’s intervention, thus regaining its original appearance. In October, the Macarena was transferred again to the National Accelerator Center (CNA) to undergo a new axial computed tomography (CAT), with the aim of corroborating that the interventions on the structural pathologies of the image had been satisfactory and thus allow the last phase of the restoration process to be undertaken.
Other work done on the image included a test of light, the stucco of the hands and bust of Hope, as well as reposition the crown pin -which was in perfect conditions of conservation and use- in the central axis of the face. On the other hand, The negative results of biological analyzes on the presence of fungi, the extraction of samples for the identification of wood species and the carrying out of the carbon 14 test were reported. as well as the results of the chemical analysis of the polychromy, which made it possible to identify the varnishes applied during Professor Arquillo’s last intervention. Finally, restorer Pedro Manzano applied a coat of varnish to begin the final chromatic reintegration.
Finally, after the replacement of the stucco, the leveling and the first chromatic reintegration with watercolor to adjust the general tone of the polychromy, the restorer applied a layer of varnish intended to revive the color and protect the original polychromy of the image against smoke and grease in the future. In addition, The work was carried out to recompose the eyes, cheeks, mouth and forehead, the most sensitive and visible area of the image, as well as the hidden chromatic reintegration of the clothing., the extraction of wood from the structure of the Virgin to identify it.
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