English and French volunteers revamp old mansion in Romanian village

Seven English and French volunteers, guided by two Romanian instructors from the National University of Arts in Bucharest (UNARTE), are restoring the Neamtu Mansion in Olari village, a patrimony building and an old landmark of Romania’s Olt County. Although a patrimony building, the mansion in Olari village, Parscoveni commune, is in poor condition, being neglected for a long time. The volunteers have already started restoring the building’s mosaic floor last week, this activity being estimated to take six days, according to representatives of Pro Patrimonio Foundation, the current owner of the mansion, reports local Mediafax. The mosaic floor restoration workshop is the first in a series of activities aimed at revitalizing the old building. “The Neamtu Mansion is now owned by the Pro Patrimonio Foundation, and the restoration activities are carried out by us, in stages, with private funds. We’re covering necessities as we gather money or materials. At this moment, we’re working inside, at the mosaic floor upstairs, because it is a spectacular detail of architecture that we’re trying to keep. Then, over the summer, we will try to repair the roof that has big problems, "said Raluca Munteanu, executive director of Pro Patrimonio Foundation. The Neamtu Mansion in Olari village is on the list of historical monuments in Olt County. The building was the home of the great boyar Constantin C. Neamtu, being a landmark of the county 70 years ago. After the 1989 Revolution, one of the boyar’s sons claimed the mansion. In 2005, he donated the building to the Order of Architects from Romania (OAR) Oltenia. Landmark building in north Romania city restored with EUR 1.4 mln EU funds Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Pro Patrimonio on Facebook)