Historical Heritage begins the restoration of the old mural of Selomar hotel

The Department of Historical Heritage has commissioned the restoration of the old mural of Selomar hotel, a piece 17.5 meters long and 1.85 meters high, with marine motifs, made of metal and which for decades has crowned the façade of the establishment as a frieze. The mayor of the department Ana Pellicer, explained that "the sculptural composition is already in a craft workshop specializing in metalwork and foundry which, after evaluating the state of the piece, has valued the restoration at 7,804.50 euros".

Specialized personnel from the company Fundirmetal dismantled the part of the establishment's facade in mid-March, in a job coordinated by the master craftsman Amando López, who will now be in charge of its restoration. It is the same workshop that already took care of making the iconic compass rose that now presides over the small square of the Castell.

Pellicer recalled that "the mural was donated to the City Council by the property of the hotel establishment, the Almódobar family and heirs, in 2017". The donation agreement included the obligation of the City Council to restore the sculptural ensemble that "in some points is quite deteriorated due to its proximity to the sea". Hence, "in addition to restoring the original decorative motifs that are in better condition, it has been planned to replace the most damaged with new pieces similar to the initial ones and renew the entire support that serves as the basis for the sculptural composition."

The budget approved by the City Council also includes the piece's return trip to Benidorm once it has been restored and its placement. In this regard, Pellicer has clarified that "several possible locations for the mural are being studied."

The councillor has indicated that "although it has not been possible to determine the authorship of the composition, the truth is that it has an important sentimental value since due to its historical location on  Levante beach, it is part of the collective imagination of several generations of Benidorm residents and tourists”. Hence, she added, that “in 2017 we very willingly accepted the altruistic gesture of the property to donate the mural to the city, and that this expense has now been planned to recover the splendour of the piece and make it available to residents. and visitors in some emblematic point of our urban scene”.

Pellicer has indicated that "with this action, we continue to recover and value our historical and cultural heritage, in this case by restoring an iconic piece, just as it is already being done with another symbolic mural: the one signed by the artist from  Alicante Gastón Castelló who during decades he wore in our municipal market ".

The mayor has highlighted that "despite the differences in styles and materials, both murals have in common that they refer to and extol a key aspect of the past and character of Benidorm: its connection with the sea". Thus, in the Selomar hotel complex, there are boats, sails, fishermen and anchors; elements are also present in the tile mural by Gastón Castelló.