Borja, Zaragoza

Borja is a Spanish municipality ( municipio ) in the province of Zaragoza the Aragon Autonomous Region. The first mention of the village dates back to the 5th century BC, when the Iberians settled in the area. Today, agriculture is increasingly being replaced by industrial enterprises in the locality.

" Ecce Homo " by Borja

Borja gained international attention in 2012, when the then 80 - year-old pensioner Cecilia Giménez wanted to restore its own initiative, a fresco from the 19th century in one of the three churches of the place. The wall painting with the Jesus - presentation was part of the work " Ecce Homo", which is the artist Elías García Martínez attributed.

The pensioner was spontaneously repair the damaged flaking wall painting. It was reported that this was done in good faith, but without the permission of the competent authorities. The improper restoration added the work to significant damage. Experts were then charged with the rescue of the work from the 19th century. According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the restoration of the image, however, is extremely difficult.

The clumsy overpainting caused quite a stir over the Spanish borders. The defaced image has been ridiculed by the press either as a " Monchichi " or " inflated Hedgehog" and was one of the great Internet Phenomena of 2012. Jesters mounted it into many other pictures of celebrities and works of art and printed it even on garments. The hype caused an unexpected tourist boom that has been so great that the city decided to participate in the first -maligned pensioner in the revenue.