The news that Parliament will move out of the President's Palace is most welcome because it may solve the problem of the underground project in St John's Square whose negative aspects have been pointed out by many experts and correspondents because of the huge expenses involved in building and running it, the inconvenience it will certainly cause for many months and the possible harm to the tunnels. Besides, the outcome of the feasibility assessments is still unknown and could be negative.
The authorities concerned should actively consider the present Parliament as an alternative site where the Flemish tapestries could be exhibited. The former Grand Masters' Palace would be ideal since the tapestries were donated by Ramon Perellos, a Grand Master. The move would also bring under one roof two magnificent sets of Flemish tapestries, one religious and one profane, which could be admired and compared in two separate halls. This is what visitors to Hampton Court Palace enjoy when they view a set of 17th century Flemish tapestries in one hall and another set made in 1540 in an adjacent hall.
The fact that the St John's tapestries belong to the Co-Cathedral can obviously be acknowledged in appropriate statements in folders and explanatory boards but it could also be stressed by their being hung in St John's itself for a week or two each year on the occasion of the feast of St John, just as they used to be in the past. This would provide an extraordinary attraction to all visitors, nothing less than the huge Botafumeiro (made in 1604) which swings amazingly in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on special feast days. Today's equipment and expert care can ensure that no harm be caused in their transportation.
Space for exhibiting other artefacts can be created by relocating the offices above the sacristy, the bookshop and ticketing office and the BOV museum. It should not be difficult for the Curia, the Foundation and the bank to find alternative premises outside the complex. Perhaps the various shops could also be coaxed to move elsewhere so that the whole block would one day belong to St John's. In the national interest this would be highly desirable.