The ‘À Cidade’ tile panel installed in Porto's Ribeira Tunnel has been restored by Signinum and has now been returned to its original place. The piece by artist Fernando Lanhas has a total area of 35 square metres and 875 tiles. 

"From a technical point of view, the tiles showed some instability and detachment. We saw losses of material that meant we had to produce some new tiles,’ says conservator-restorer António Cardoso. The co-founder of Signinum emphasises that the major challenge of the intervention was a new laying system, ‘a little out of the ordinary".

"The tile is now laid directly on a structure that is autonomous from the wall surface, so anything that happens to the wall won't happen to the tile from now on", he explains. From an aesthetic point of view, the new laying structure is not noticeable to passers-by. However, "from a technical, sustainability, maintenance and preservation point of view, the solution will allow for more assertive, quick and cheap maintenance" of the panel.

Fernando Lanhas' artwork was offered to the Município do Porto in 2015, three years after the artist's death, by his family. The name ‘À Cidade’ came from the author's desire to offer Porto one of his last works.

"What happens with any intervention linked to heritage is that we have to pay attention to public safety - in this case the tiles could fall down - but we also have to respect the heritage. And this is a piece of great artistic importance",’ concludes António Cardoso. He is "proud" of the final result, which can now be seen by the thousands of people who walk through the Ribeira Tunnel every day.