Strappo. El expolio del románico catalán

Synopsis of Strappo. El expolio del románico catalán

Strappo is a historical novel by Martí Gironell that recreates the looting of Romanesque paintings, transporting us to the 12th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In the summer of 1919, Franco Steffanoni applies the strappo technique to remove murals more than a thousand years old in Santa Maria de Mur, commissioned by an antique dealer. Thus begins the looting of Romanesque art, where unscrupulous characters steal and sell treasures from the churches of Pallars and the Boí Valley. Joaquim Folch y Torres and Ton de cal Soldat will fight to avoid this dilemma: to tear off to preserve or to negotiate. Strappo portrays the tenacity of some and the greed of others to obtain the treasures that the churches kept, now a World Heritage Site according to UNESCO.