MADRID, July 13. /TASS/: The creators of the Hermitage’s Barcelona project seek 141 mln euro from the Mayor’s office, a source in the company related to the project confirmed this information to TASS.
The El Pais newspaper reported that the initiators of the Hermitage’s Catalonian branch filed this claim against municipal authorities on June 21 and demanded compensation for damages amid "the impossibility of establishing the museum" in Barcelona. It turned out to be impossible to create the center in the Spanish city "due to unjustified prolongation in solving the issue by the Mayor’s Office" and "the refusal to consider the agreement" with Barcelona’s port authorities.
Initiators of the Hermitage branch pointed out that "preparatory measures" to establish the center date back to 2013. If the Mayor’s Office refuses to pay compensation, a court battle would probably be the next step. Resolving disagreements this way could take several years.
The project’s creators decided to drop their idea of opening the Hermitage Barcelona branch due to disagreements with the local Mayor’s Office, a source in the company related to the project told TASS this January.
Hermitage Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky and the culture advisor of the Catalonian capital inked an agreement of intent to create the Hermitage Barcelona center in 2012. It was assumed that the Hermitage would stage their exhibitions from the museum collection, collections of other museums and artworks of modern Russian painters.
