"Pilar Experience" is the project through which the temple hopes to transform the way visitors explore and understand the basilica. The initiative is still in the development phase, with those responsible working on the content and narratives that will form part of the proposal, and it is expected to be ready by 2028.
As José Antonio Calvo, chief of staff to the Archbishop of Zaragoza, PhD in Philosophy and a canon of the Pilar, explained to ARAGÓN DIGITAL, the starting point is a reality that currently affects visits. "The Pilar is a building under strain and sometimes does not offer a satisfactory experience for prayer or for visiting the heritage," he said.
A NEW WAY TO DISCOVER THE PILAR
The future experience will seek to better organize the different uses and routes within the basilica. To this end, the project includes dividing the spaces into zones and creating routes intended to explain the Pilar more fully and make it easier for each visitor to approach the temple from different perspectives. "With this activity, we want to explain the Pilar better, and we are working on the content and narratives," Calvo explained.
The project is therefore intended to ensure that a visit to the Pilar is not limited solely to viewing its spaces, but also enables visitors to better understand what they encounter along the route. The proposal will combine the basilica’s artistic and historical heritage with its religious and devotional dimension.
One of the main challenges will be precisely to reconcile this new type of visit with the temple’s daily operations. The Pilar remains, above all, a place of worship, but at the same time it receives numerous visitors drawn by its historical, artistic and tourism significance.
The Cabildo’s current expectation is that the experience can be launched in 2028. "We hope it will be ready in 2028," Calvo said, although the project is still being defined.
ZARAGOZA LOOKS TOWARD 2040
The new experience also forms part of a longer-term vision for the basilica. The Metropolitan Cabildo is preparing for the 2,000th anniversary of the Virgin’s coming, which will be commemorated in 2040.
This project, known as Pilar 2040, will mark 2,000 years since an event that, beyond its religious dimension, has for centuries formed part of Zaragoza’s history, culture and heritage. The future "Pilar Experience," planned for 2028, will be one of the steps in the process of renewing how the monument is presented and explained.
