Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga

Factors identified at the time of inscription of the property:

• Legal framework (classify the whole site as a National Monument)
• Management System/Management Plan (improve the documentation, update and supplement the Management Plan, improve the Action Plan, visitor management, improve institutional links between stakeholders)
• Low impact research/monitoring activities (develop additional monitoring indicators and improve the documentation related to heritage elements)
• Buildings and development (remove the terrace bar)

On 16 December 2020, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1590/documents/. The report presents the State Party’s progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at the time of the inscription, as follows:

• Details of progress on documenting the property are provided. The State Party reports that the entire historical archive has been inventoried, as has 70% of the movable property pertaining to the sanctuary;
• In response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a reprogramming of actions. No major buildings works are underway, and currently only preventative maintenance is being carried out. A schedule of actions from 2021-2025 is provided. It is expected that the majority of funding will be obtained through European Union funding, the balance being covered through the annual budgets of the ‘Confraria de Bom Jesus’, the owners of the property;
• The municipalities of Braga and Guimaraes have drawn up and are implementing the ‘Intermunicipal Sacromontes Programme’ (IPM) to improve institutional links for fire prevention and firefighting;
• The entire property has been classified as a National Monument by Notice No. 20150/2020;
• Initiatives for visitor control in the action plan focus on pedestrian and car traffic planning and parking and enhancing the visitor experience of the property. The Confraria developed a rehabilitation study of the Portico area, set out in the ‘Programme to Improve the Visitation of the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte’ (2020);
• Considering the recommended additional monitoring indicators, the State Party reaffirms that those identified in the nomination dossier regarding the park and woodland are still relevant. Baseline data has been provided by the detailed vegetation study. The definition of monitoring indicators to address urban expansion/development requires the official publication of the revised Braga Master Plan. Monitoring of visitor impacts is expected through the IPM;
• The vegetation study provides a classification of the existing vegetation, focusing on the arboreal stratum, and an analysis of documentary sources. The study concludes that the sanctuary’s current tree heritage is very important to the scenic and functional value of the property, nevertheless, it represents a considerable management challenge;
• The contract for the management of the terrace bar reportedly ended at the end of 2020. A plan has been approved to remove the terrace bar (in early 2021) and create a new circulation scheme.

Progress was made in relation to some of the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations at the time of inscription. In particular, the classification of the entire property as a National Monument, the establishment of the IPM, the commitment to remove the terrace bar, and the implementation of the detailed vegetation study are welcome.

Noting that the legal protection of the whole site as a National Monument means that the buffer zone corresponds under national legislation for all purposes to a Special Protection Zone, it would be helpful if the State Party could clarify how it proposes to develop monitoring indicators to identify potential threats to the property and buffer zone from urban expansion/development, including private building activity inside the buffer zone, and how this will be linked with the Braga Master Plan.

The IPM not only provides for the establishment of a strategy to combat forest fires but covers a wider programme of economic and social development and environmental quality assurance. The programme is planned to be concluded in 2022, and it would be important to clarify how the strategy to combat forest fires, and the broader programme of cooperation between Braga and Guimaraes, will be sustained in the future.

The detailed vegetation study with inventory of the arboreal elements of the vegetation and conclusions in relation to the importance of the vegetation as complementary to the architectural design and ornamentation of the Sanctuary’s built elements, are all to be welcomed. However, no detail is provided on how this information will be used to update management planning for the landscape of the property. Given that the study recognizes that the current tree heritage of the property represents a considerable challenge for the future management of the property, it would be appropriate to request detailed information from the State Party in relation to how the vegetation study will inform the management of the property and monitoring indicators for the park and wood.

Several previously recommended elements have not been addressed and require further work and clarification, such as the inventory of heritage elements of the property. Some immediate actions and funding applications are noted, as is the decrease in the Confraria’s revenues as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the planned actions appear to involve extensive construction or conservation activity, such as the creation of an interpretation centre and the conservation and restoration of three chapels in the Terreiro dos Evangelistas. Noting that previous recommendations included the need to improve the Action Plan, the Committee may wish to address this as a priority and request the State Party to submit a revised Action Plan, a Conservation Plan and, given the focus on the visitor experience, a Tourism Management Plan as part of an updated Management Plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, prior to its adoption.

The State Party recognizes that the scale of planned interventions, for example in relation to the rehabilitation of the Portico area, could have repercussions on the property as a whole and states that the impacts are being studied. Given the scale and potential impacts of proposed developments on the property, it is recommended that World Heritage Committee request the State Party to develop a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for all the proposed developments and their potential cumulative impact, to be communicated to the World Heritage Centre before construction, in accordance with Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines.