Museum received donation of important artefact linked to original image of Jesús Nazareno
The tasselled cord was used to secure the garments of the first image which was destroyed during the Civil War.
Monday 23rd August 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith
The Soler Blasco Municipal Museum has been donated an important artefact which is linked to the local religious history, a tasselled silk cord which was used to secure the garments of the first image of Jesús Nazareno that was highly revered in Xàbia. The cord is more than 250 years old – the image arrived in Xàbia in 1767 – and has remained hidden for almost a century.
The donation has been made by the family of Ángeles Diego Sapena, thanks to the mediation and inquiries made by Bartolomé Bas Segarra “Aspirina”. When he was a child, helping in the pharmacy of a relative, he overheard the name of the person who had hidden this relic to save it from the tragic acts that surrounded the first days of the Spanish Civil War, during which the original image of Jesús Nazareno was destroyed.
A man called Pascual Diego, known as “El Batlet” hid the relic so well and kept it so secret that his daughter Ángeles never found it, despite the fact that Bartolomé Bas had made several enquiries. Now, 85 years later, her descendants have uncovered the secret which was hidden in a dresser belonging to their great-grandmother – an old piece of furniture that has been passed down from generation to generation – in a hidden compartment behind a drawer.
The three-tasselled cord is the same one that appears in the oldest photos and prints that remain of the original image of Jesús Nazareno and it will now be exhibited in the municipal museum.
Both the mayor José Chulvi and councillor Quico Moragues (Culture) thanked the family for this symbolic donation that strengthens Xàbia’s historical veneration for the image of Jesús Nazareno.
