in 1996, world monuments fund placed saint-emilion monolithic church on the watch because of the severe structural problems, exacerbated by constant water infiltration threatening this architecturally and culturally significant site. cement columns had been erected to supplement the church's pillars and reinforce the bell tower, but this solution was neither designed to be permanent nor aesthetically desirable. to begin, wmf undertook a technical study that identified and analyzed the specific problems at saint-emilion. a meeting of international experts was convened by wmf in 1998. geologists, architects, and engineers from universities across europe produced recommendations for conservation strategies that were implemented, with funding from the local and national governments. the church's foundations were strengthened through the insertion of tensile bands into the pillars. a decade after inclusion on the watch, saint-emilion monolithic church was stabilized, restored, and opened to the public.
