The “Cantacuzino Palace – George Enescu National Museum” in Bucharest is to undergo a 24-month restoration process, according to the Ministry of Culture. The investment is estimated at RON 45.41 million (more than EUR 9.9 million), including VAT.

The Culture Ministry issued a press release announcing the revamping project after the local media reported that the palace is in a bad shape.

The Ministry said that the Government approved in March, via a Government Decision, the technical and economic indicators of the investment objective “Consolidation, Restoration and Arrangement of Cantacuzino Palace – George Enescu National Museum” and the annex, which make up the museum complex. According to the procedure, the project’s documentation should have been submitted for approval to the Technical and Economic Council of the Ministry of Culture. However, the approval process stopped at this point, because there was no such council within the Ministry.

“Conflicting interpretations of the regulations in force blocked the establishment of the Technical and Economic Council for a long time but the Ministry took this month all the necessary measures for this administrative structure to be established as soon as possible and unblock the approval procedure,” reads the press release from the Ministry of Culture.

After getting the permit, the Ministry will initiate the procurement procedure to award the work contract. The restoration work will start after the contract is signed, and will be completed in 24 months.

The project will be financed with money that will come both from a loan granted by the Council of Europe Development Bank and from the state budget. Within this project, the building will undergo a wide-ranging process of research, analysis, review, and restoration.

The Cantacuzino Palace was built between 1898-1900, based on the project of architect I.D. Berindey, together with a series of remarkable collaborators such as G.D. Mirea, Costin Petrescu, Arthur Verona, and Nicolae Isidor Vermont for the monumental paintings, Frederick Stork and Emil Wilhelm Becker for the sculptures, and the Krieger House in Paris for interior decoration, tapestries, chandeliers, lamps, and stained glass. The building is located on Calea Victoriei boulevard in Bucharest.

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Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com