The work carried out by the Foundation explains the Aragon Government's commitment, with its contribution to the organization's activities already doubled this year to 300,000 euros. According to Azcón, this support will now make it possible to take another step so that “the expertise and capacity of its restoration center can reach the entire region”.
Azcón linked this support to the ability of heritage to generate activity and opportunities across the territory. “Our responsibility is not only to protect the heritage we have inherited, but also to ensure that this heritage remains alive, accessible, generates activity and reaches future generations in the best possible condition,” he said.
The celebration included a tour of some of the monuments restored by the organization over the years. The itinerary featured music, dance and theater performances and provided an opportunity to see the work carried out at the Church of Santiago, the Episcopal Palace, the Cathedral, the White Tower, the Chapel of San Juan, the Castle and the Albarracín Museum. The day ended at the Santa María Church-Auditorium, where the institutional ceremony was held and the documentary ’30 Years Bringing Heritage to Life’ was presented.
30 YEARS OF WORK IN ALBARRACÍN
During the ceremony, Azcón congratulated the Santa María de Albarracín Foundation on three decades “of work, perseverance and a way of understanding heritage that has shown that preserving our past is also a way of building our future”. According to the president, this track record should also serve as a basis for looking ahead.
“Celebrating 30 years makes sense if it also allows us to think about the next 30, and the Aragon Government wants to be there,” he said, before stressing that preserving heritage, as Albarracín has demonstrated, means “caring for the territory, generating activity, attracting visitors, creating opportunities, keeping a municipality alive and building a future and opportunities for the community”.
During this time, the Santa María de Albarracín Foundation has linked heritage conservation with culture, training, knowledge, economic activity, tourism and opportunities for the territory. The project began in 1996 with a clear idea: Albarracín had exceptional heritage, but more had to be done than simply preserving it. Over these three decades, the organization has carried out around 40 projects in Albarracín, hosted more than 2,100 restorers and recovered 1,738 items of heritage.
It has also organized courses, concerts, exhibitions, conferences, gatherings and creative residencies, averaging 130 activities and around 4,000 participants each year, turning the town into a place to “create, learn, share knowledge and enjoy culture”.
