Summary
In 2012, an elderly parishioner and amateur art restorer named Cecilia Giménez captured the world's attention. She touched up a fresco of Jesus Christ titled Ecce Homo in the Santuario de Misericordia church.
Ivana Larrosa visited Borja to see the botched restoration of Ecce Homo. The town had previously welcomed just 5,000 visitors per year. Now between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists per year flock to see it.
An hour and 70km after leaving Zaragoza, we were in the sleepy, medieval centre of Borja. The Santuario de Misericordia is located roughly 5km away and up a hill from town's central plaza. In all, visitors from 110 countries have now come to see it.
Ivana Larrosa has embraced the botched painting and it has become its marquee attraction. The church began charging visitors a €3 entrance fee and selling souvenirs in 2016.
According to one article in the Spanish press, for the last few years, Ecce Homo-inspired tourism, image rights and programmes generated €45,000 in 2021 alone for the town of Borja. Shortly after the revelations of the botched Ecce homo, one of her own paintings sold at a charity auction for $1,400.
