The “Circular from the rural school” project is a cooperation project between rural development groups led by the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar.
The following have participated in the project: ADRI Calatayud-Aranda, ADRI Jiloca-Gallocanta, FEDIVALCA -Valdejalón and Campo de Cariñena-, ASOMO Tarazona and el Moncayo, CEDEMAR -Bajo Aragón Caspe and Ribera Baja del Ebro-, ADRAE -Ribera Alta del Ebro- and ADEFO Cinco Villas.
The objective is to develop educational materials around the Mudejar identity of the towns, placing rural schools and the educational community of the towns as the center of the project.
Based on the work developed, for almost three years, the students of fifteen schools have designed a walk through their town in which we can learn about the main points of interest and their connection with the Mudejar culture.
Tauste
The route has been carried out following the working model of the schools that participated in the project and adapted to the town of Tauste.
As well as standing out in the Islamic period with an important population, Tauste is one of the historic Cinco Villas of Aragon. The most visible landmark of the town is the tower of the church of Santa María. The Mudejar style is also present in the lower part of the town centre, where the church of San Antón is located. In addition, this tour of Tauste also allows you to discover some examples of Aragonese civil architecture, such as the Casa de la Cámara.
The Muslim necropolis, or maqbara, of Tauste is considered to be one of the oldest and largest in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. Located on the outskirts of the old Islamic medina of Tauste, today it is the site of one of the main avenues of the town. This maqbara of such characteristics leads us to believe that there was already a large population settled in Tauste around the 8th century. This population, after the Christian conquest, became known as Mudejar.
This point is linked to the didactic activity 1
At the foot of the primitive church of San Antón, a transitional period between the Romanesque and Mudejar styles, stands the tower of mixed typology in the Mudejar style. It is a late tower that still follows the Islamic building tradition, built in brick and plaster.
This point is linked to the didactic activity 3
Not many kilometres from the town of Tauste is the Bárdenas Reales Nature Reserve and Biosphere Reserve. In addition, we also find the passage of the canal through Tauste, whose origin dates back to the 13th century, when the construction of a dam and an irrigation channel to extract water from the river Ebro was permitted.
This point is linked to the didactic activity 6
Undoubtedly, one of the identifying symbols of Tauste is the tower of the church of Santa María, which welcomes us from the road. With an octagonal ground plan, it rises to a height of 46 metres. The tower of Tauste has an interior structure divided into superimposed rooms, which is completed with a brick decoration on the outside that projects various plays of light and shadows on the tower.
This point is linked to learning activity 5.
The House of the Chamber is located very close to the church. This building allows us to talk about the use of materials and construction techniques from the Islamic tradition that continue to be used throughout time in our territory. In 1610 the Moors (Mudejars converted to Christianity) were expelled from Aragon, which meant the end of the Mudejar style. Even so, we can still find buildings that are built following the same construction tradition. This is what we call the survival of the style, and we can find it in many architectures (houses, palaces, churches) until the 60s of the 20th century.
This point is linked to the didactic activity 7
