Two years of painstaking work reveals stunning mosaics at Jesus’ birthplace

After two years of painstaking work, experts have completed the initial phase of a delicate restoration project at the Church of the Nativity, giving a much-needed face-lift to one of Christianity’s holiest sites. The project, partially funded by the Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts, is the biggest restoration at the iconic church in some 600 years. The removal of centuries of dust has left Crusader-era mosaics sparkling in sunlight filtering through brand new windows.

For the first time you can see, when you go up, mosaics really magnificent and beautiful and unique in the whole world.

Ziad al-Bandak, who leads the Palestinian committee in charge of the restoration

The Church of the Nativity, located in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, was built by Saint Helena in the 4th century over the grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus. Despite its spiritual significance, the church was neglected for centuries and is listed as endangered by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency. Over the past two years, specialists have replaced the most damaged of the ancient wood beams of the rooftop and put up a new cover. They also installed new wooden framed windows that prevent water infiltration. For the first time in almost 1,000 years the thousands of fine mosaics’ tiles have been retouched.

From underneath you could no longer see the colors, so much so that some people were wondering ‘Do we really have mosaics in this church?’

Mimmo Nucatolo, who heads the Italian team