Alcobaça altarpiece among this year’s 25 World Monuments Watch sites

A terracotta altarpiece located in the Monastery of Alcobaça, in west-central Portugal, is one of 25 sites chosen by the World Monuments Watch heritage safeguarding programme as in need of action to preserve it. The altarpiece of the Transit of St Bernard, which includes sculptural pieces, mural paintings and stone, “is in a state of degradation and should be preserved for the future,” says the World Monuments Fund (WMF), which has today announced the choice of this heritage site, located in the Monastery of Alcobaça, for its biennial World Monuments Watch programme.