After 20 years of silence and a complex restoration process, the Carillons of the Mafra National Palace were played during a memorable inaugural concert that assembled over 6,000 people in the square in front of the Palace on the afternoon of 2 February. In a congratulatory message read during the event, the President of Europa Nostra praised the masterful restoration of the largest surviving set of 18th century carillon bells in the world; Maestro Plácido Domingo also expressed his wish to return to Mafra to celebrate this impressive heritage achievement as well as the recent inscription of the Palace on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. The Carillons were listed among the 7 Most Endangered heritage assets in Europe in 2014 by Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute, following a nomination by the Centro Nacional de Cultura.

Following a mission by Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute in October 2014, the European experts put forward a technical and financial report in March 2015, which underlined the need and justification for the rehabilitation project and supported the approach adopted. The highlighting of the project by the 7 Most Endangered programme helped prioritise the project among the public authorities.

The conservation programme had a total cost of 1.7 million euros and was almost entirely financed by the Ministry of Culture of Portugal.

Read more about it here.