Pope Leo XIV received Pedro Sánchez this morning at the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid and was given an olive bonsai as a symbol of peace, dialogue and understanding. However, while the Prime Minister was meeting the Pontiff and media attention was focused on the historic papal visit to Spain, the first machines were beginning work in the Valley of the Fallen to start the preliminary drilling for the resignification project promoted by the Government.
The coincidence does not appear accidental. Already in April, the Government had announced that it would present the urban project linked to the resignification of the Valley of the Fallen during the month of June, precisely on the same dates chosen for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Spain.
From the meeting with the Pope to the drilling in the Valley
The day began with the meeting between Sánchez and Leo XIV at the headquarters of the Apostolic Nunciature. Also taking part in the meeting were the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin; the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Monsignor Piero Pioppo; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
As an institutional gift, the President presented the Pontiff with a thirteen-year-old Spanish olive tree, described by the Government as a symbol of peace and understanding.
According to journalist Alex Navajas of El Debate, during the same day, while Leo XIV was addressing the Cortes Generales in one of the most significant events of his visit, the first machines entered the Valley of the Fallen to begin technical studies on site and start drilling on the esplanade in front of the pontifical basilica.
A timetable set for June
The start of the works marks a new step in the resignification project promoted by the Government.
Already during the April Plenary Assembly of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, it emerged that the Government intended to begin in June the winning project of the competition to transform the site. At that time, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez, also made it clear that the Executive was prepared to use the necessary legal instruments to avoid any delay in the planned actions.
The launch of the drilling during the papal visit confirms the timetable the Government had designed months earlier and with a meticulously calculated intention.
A fissure to transform the esplanade
The works will allow analysis of the composition and stability of the ground before executing the architectural project called The base and the cross.
The proposal thus envisages a profound transformation of the main esplanade of the Valley of the Fallen. Among its most striking elements is the opening of a large fissure that would run across the space from side to side.
According to the official explanation, this intervention aims to “break the original authoritarian symmetry” and symbolize dialogue and reconciliation.
The project also includes the construction of an underground museum of more than 3,500 square meters dedicated to historical memory and the modification of various elements of the monumental complex.
With the first drilling already underway, the Government is moving from announcements to the material execution of a project that will significantly transform the Valley of the Fallen.