Seven years ago, Tas Careaga had his eye on a romanesque church, that of Santa Cruz de Sopuerta, from the 16th century. The idea was to transform it into an art studio that at the same time it was his home.

He found it on a second-hand portal, and the reason for the sale, Careaga explains, was that the Provincial Council placed a request to the Bishopric to fix it.

The totally ruined and after three years of work in which he has done everything, the result is spectacular. The altar is a kitchen; Where the sacristy was, there is now a jacuzzi. You can find cool even in the bathroom and to go up to the bell tower there is a secret passage.

Caragea’s is not the only case. Two and a half hours away, Adrián Campos has spent three years looking for a house-studio near his town, but the only thing he has found are more than 90 demolished churches. One is already his, that of San Clemente in Uzquita, Romanesque from the 13th century.

Campos, who is an artist, believed that this would be a good way to stop losing heritage. “These buildings are falling because we are not considering a change of use,” he says. He convinced the parish priest, presented the project to the treasurer and in half a year it was his for less than 10,000 euros.

“I don’t think they want to do business with them because it’s hard for them to let go of them, selling them for other purposes is like prostituting them“, says Campos. An opinion similar to that of Careaga, who believes that the “Bishopric is not interested in this being a nightclub.” His, for the moment, is registered as tourist use and he does not rule out buying others.

With cases like these, the Bishoprics open a niche that can cause miracles in their heritage.