La estatua dorada del arcángel San Miguel que corona la abadía del Monte Saint-Michel, uno de los monumentos más visitados de Francia, fue retirada de su cima el martes y trasladada en helicóptero para ser restaurada, constató la AFP.
(FILES) This file photo taken on March 7, 2016 shows scaffolding around the statue of the Archangel Michael on top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) will remove the statue on March 15, 2016, which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
Nuns watch as a helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey by a helicopter, is placed on the ground, on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is placed on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is place on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is place on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is place on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
Technicians place the the helmet belonging to the statue of the Archangel Michael, after it was airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, and placed on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is placed on the ground, on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
A helicopter lifts the statue of the Archangel Michael from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael, airlifted by a helicopter from the top of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is place on the ground on March 15, 2016.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue which also acts as a lightning rod for the abbey as part of the project to restore the device. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU
The statue of the Archangel Michael of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey is pictured on a lorry on March 15, 2016, before being taken away for restoration.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue, which also acts as a lightning rod, as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A man closes the side of a truck carrying the statue of the Archangel Michael of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016, before it is taken away for restoration.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue, which also acts as a lightning rod, as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
The statue of the Archangel Michael of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey is pictured on a lorry on March 15, 2016, before being taken away for restoration.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue, which also acts as a lightning rod, as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
A man adjusts padding around the statue of the Archangel Michael of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey on March 15, 2016, before it is taken away for restoration.
The Centre for National Monuments (CMN) removed the statue, which also acts as a lightning rod, as part of the project to restore the lightning rod device. / AFP / DAMIEN MEYER
“Estoy contento, la obra acaba de llegar en buenas condiciones” a la costa, desde donde será trasladada en camión hasta el taller del suroeste de Francia donde será restaurada, indicó Xavier Bailly, administrador de la abadía.
Levantado por un helicóptero, el arcángel, emprendió vuelo después de una tentativa infructuosa.
Se trata de “una operación sumamente delicada a raíz del valor de la obra, del carácter marino y ventoso del Monte y de su notoriedad mundial”, explicó Bailly.
La operación debió ser aplazada varias veces, ya que exige condiciones meteorológicas clementes durante varios días, necesarios para montar el andamiaje indispensable a la operación de retiro y traslado por helicóptero de la estatua.
La estatua, de 4,5 metros de alto y 520 kg de peso, culmina a 156 m sobre el nivel del mar en lo alto de la abadía, situada en un peñón de la costa de Normandía.
Contemporáneo de la estatua de la libertad de Nueva York, fabricado en la misma herrería, el arcángel de cobre dorado fue instalado en 1897 en la abadía del Monte Saint-Michel y sólo ha sido restaurado dos veces desde entonces.
El conjunto del Monte Saint-Michel (la abadía, el pueblo y la bahía) forman parte del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO desde 1979. Recibe entre dos y tres millones de visitantes anualmente.
