During a brief ceremony, the deputy president read the document confirming the handover of the remains, which had been kept under the custody of the Huesca Museum until conditions around and access to the monastery allowed their return. Representatives of the Royal Brotherhood of San Juan de la Peña and the mayor of Jaca, Carlos Serrano, also attended.
After the document was read, the deputy president, the regional minister for the Environment and Tourism, the mayor of Jaca and the Senior Brother of the Royal Brotherhood of San Juan de la Peña, Félix Longás, signed it. The March of the Kings of Aragon was then played to conclude the ceremony.
ANTICIPATION AND COORDINATION
The Government of Aragon took preventive action to evacuate the most significant and vulnerable cultural assets from the Old Monastery of San Juan de la Peña amid the risk that the Las Peñas de Riglos wildfire could reach the monumental complex.
The operation was launched after the 112 Emergency Coordination Center contacted the Directorate-General for Culture and Cultural Heritage to assess the situation. Technicians, restorers and service heads determined which assets required priority protection, including the remains preserved in the Royal Pantheon and the formal military uniform of the Count of Aranda.
The proximity of the flames led the regional government to act in advance and order the evacuation of these assets. Emergency officials and heritage specialists coordinated an intervention whose priorities were safeguarding people and preserving an irreplaceable historical legacy.
During the first intervention, members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) removed the original uniform of the Count of Aranda and various archaeological pieces. The proximity of the fire nevertheless forced work to be temporarily suspended and personnel to withdraw.
During a second entry, a multidisciplinary team from the Culture and Cultural Heritage authorities, accompanied by UME and Civil Guard personnel, succeeded in evacuating the skeletal remains of Aragon’s first kings and other members of the royal lineage. Fragments of mural paintings and other cultural assets were also removed during this intervention.
