In 1954 all the constructions attached to the chapel
wall and those set in the angle of the building up to
the assembly hall were demolished when town planning
actions were implemented to enlarge the Plaza del
Patriarca and align the university façade that gives on
to the square with the established building line. A new
stretch of façade was built according to the same model
used in the rest to complete the perimeter of the
building. A fountain with statues by Octavio Vicent was
added in 1964.
Although the Philosophy and Arts faculties moved to new
buildings designed by the architect Moreno Barberá on
the Blasco Ibañez campus in 1968, the old university
facilities continued to be massively overcrowded during
the ‘70s. The growing number of administrative
departments occupied every available space and the
building became seriously deteriorated.
An unfortunate reform was carried out in 1974 when the
Faculty of Economics, the last educational institution
located in the original Estudi General building,
moved to new facilities; only two large stone arches
were kept on the ground floor of the library that gives
on to la Universidad street, in an area subsequently
used for travelling exhibitions. The rectory was also
reformed at the same time.
The re-establishment of university self-government in
1985 favoured the gradual restoration of the historic
building, a valuable testimony to Valencian architecture
over the last three centuries. The restoration of the
university theatre and the works of art it holds
finished in 1987, and work began to restore the badly
deteriorated Sapiencia chapel, followed by a solemn
opening ceremony in 1991. Finally, the building was
totally reconditioned prior to the university’s
five-hundredth anniversary in 1999 so that it would look
superb for any cultural events held there, in the
service of Valencia. |