Circular from the Rural School goes out to the territory with a schedule of presentations

The Circular from Rural School project returns to the territory with a schedule of presentations from June 15 to 22.

This initiative is a cooperation project between rural development groups, @Adri Calatayud-Aranda @Adri Jiloca Gallocanta @Fedivalca @Adrae Comarca Ribera Alta del Ebro – Zaragoza @Adefo Cinco Villas @Asomo Moncayo @Cedemar @Leader Aragonese Rural Development Network, led by the Territorio Mudéjar association.

The goal is to develop educational materials focused on the Mudejar identity of the villages, focusing on rural schools and the village educational community.

The 2021-2022 school year in Territorio Mudéjar has been dominated by work with teachers, students, and the educational community in 15 rural school communities.

Based on the excellent work developed, the students from each school have designed a walk through their town in which they will explain the main points of interest and their connection to Mudejar culture.

Wednesday 15th

10:00 MAINAR. Meeting point: Santa Ana School

11:30 VILLARREAL DE HUERVA. Meeting point: Fernando el Católico School

THURSDAY 16

9:30 ANIÑÓN. Meeting point: parish church

11:00 CERVERA DE LA CAÑADA. Meeting point: parish church.

12:30 VILLARROYA DE LA SIERRA. Meeting point: King’s Castle

FRIDAY 17TH

11:30 FIFTH. Meeting point: Fernando el Católico School.

TUESDAY 21ST

11:00 ATECA. Meeting point: Virgen de la Peana School.

6:00 PM RICLA. Meeting point: Maestro Monreal School.

Wednesday 22nd

9:00 a.m. CALATAYUD. Meeting point: Salvador Minguijón School

MOMAr Study Tour of Mehedinti County, Romania

Territorio Mudéjar participated in the latest study visit of the European MOMAr (‘Models of Management for Singular Rural Heritage’) project to Mehedinti County in Romania.

This rural area of ​​the country has served as inspiration for 24 European experts to learn about best practices in rural heritage management models.

On this trip, we visited the Iron Gates Regional Museum, located in the town of Drobeta Turnu Severin, and its exhibits on the communities of Mehedinti County.

On a cruise along the Danube, we observe the natural diversity and historical sites nestled along the river’s banks.

We visited the village of Eibenthal in the Banat Mountains, inhabited by a Czech community and which has become a meeting and celebration place.

They also explained the success story of the DiGiParks initiative, which reproduces 3D models of the region’s notable heritage sites.

The visit continued at the Romanian Hydroelectric Power Station Museum. In Balta Cave, we enjoyed a concert performed by a local music school.

We arrived at the so-called ‘Bridge of God’, the largest natural bridge in Romania, located in the village of Ponoarele.

And the last stage of the tour took place at the church of Selistea.

The Aragonese delegation was made up of the DPZ team: the coordinator of the Citizenship Area, Juan José Borque; the head of the Culture and Heritage Section, Lorena Laga; and the culture technician and member of the MOMAr coordination team, Isabel Soria. Traveling with them were the director of Mudejar Territory, Victoria Trasobares; the mayor of Gotor, José Ángel Calvo; the mayor of Quinto, Jesús Morales; the mayor of Velilla de Ebro, María Rosario Gómez; and the culture technician from the Utebo City Council, Walter Espada.

Representatives of the European partners also attended the trip from Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), South Bohemia (Czech Republic), and the province of Groningen (Netherlands), as well as the project’s technical advisory committee, made up of Irene Ruiz and Marisa Sebastián.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Research stays and projects 2022

4th Call for Research Stays and Projects Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis.

4th Call for Research Stays
Submission deadline: July 20.

Territorio Mudéjar is hosting the fourth edition of the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research and Project Internships, designed to directly support the work of researchers and project promoters who want to contribute to the development of communities through the responsible and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage resources.

Territorio Mudéjar is an association of town councils, currently thirty-six member town councils and one collaborating partner, whose objective is to consolidate a unified and collaborative management network for the use of the historical and artistic resources linked to the important Mudejarartistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage , understanding them as a driving force for the development of the villages and as an and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up our territory.

Our programme of actions for the coming years has been designed in accordance with the strategic lines defined by the defined by the ” Roadmap of the Council of the European Union 2019- 2022″, which2022″ which, aligned with the goals of the 2030 Agenda, have as a guiding principle that “the cultural identity of territories will contribute to territories will contribute to sustainable social and economic development by differentiating markets and in turn allowing their integration into a diversified a diversified economy that can ensure their future success.

The projects carried out in 2021, and the implementation of actions derived from projects in previous calls for proposals, have consolidated this initiative as one of our most important lines of work, based on the development of actions that enhance the retention and attraction of talent, actions aimed at building highly qualified professional networks linked to the use of historical, artistic, and cultural resources, contributing to medium- and long-term territorial development.

Dedicated to Professor Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis, a staunch defender of the management of Aragonese heritage and of the territory, as an action of the people and as an innovative field of work full of future. His work exemplified with perfect coherence the possibility of combining research work of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people. of high scientific impact with a commitment to the land and its people, not only favouring the knowledge, conservation and dissemination of its historical-artistic heritage, but also by modernising work processes and by proposing innovative innovation projects in which natural, cultural and heritage resources are a key element in the future of the towns.

FOCUS
Transdisciplinary thinking as a tool for innovation.

The Mudéjar Territory digitalization strategy

The management of historical, artistic, and cultural heritage is evolving rapidly thanks to digital technologies. The current challenge is to apply a strategic vision to these unprecedented processes and opportunities offered by new technologies and utilize them as efficiently as possible, ensuring that the efforts made during this boom are sustainable and allow for the development of future projects.

Digitalization should not be an end in itself, but rather a driving force for improving heritage management efforts, taking into account the different possibilities that digitalization offers as a tool for conservation, dissemination, knowledge, and recognition of value. It should also take into account that new opportunities can arise from it in the form of projects that, without the use of these tools, would have a lower degree of scope, relevance, or specialization.

Therefore, at Territorio Mudéjar we are working on a clear strategy, still in the development phase in some of its aspects, which serves as a guide prior to carrying out any action in future projects and which is also inclusive of the actions already carried out in its different municipalities and in previous calls, applying the principle of reusing and improving all initiatives already carried out or underway. This strategy is adapted to the latest recommendations of the European Commission and also takes into account the standards of the most commonly used platforms and repositories such as Europeana or Google Arts.

The 4th call for Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Fellowships reaffirms our vision of applied research in heritage management that seeks real impact on localities by fostering networking. Once the various experiences and projects derived from them are underway, we aim to work with all the resources already created to establish quality and strategic parameters that will contribute to a dynamic digitalization strategy focused on improving heritage management.

For this reason, one of the criteria introduced this year in the call for stays is that all deliverables in digital version (photographs, videos, digital models, audio files, etc.) comply with the provisions of the recently published Study on quality in 3D digitisation of tangible cultural heritage: mapping parameters, formats, standards, benchmarks, methodologies, and guidelines and follow the lines of work indicated in the recommendation of 10/11/2021 on a common European data space for cultural heritage, thus adapting the quality criteria established in the Mudejar Territory Digitisation Strategy.

All the beneficiaries of the aid will receive information and training on the the DigitisationStrategy of Territorio Mudéjar during the first phase of their the first phase of their project and they will have a specific continuous specific ongoing monitoring during its development to help them comply with it.

DISRUPTIVE THINKING FROM ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Territorio Mudéjar is emerging as a place of action and creativity from areas often place of action and creativity from areas that are often ordered and differentiated and differentiated areas that often dissolve boundaries and take us to places that are complex to manage.

In this sense, the new call offers renewed areas of work and introduces a new area of ​​knowledge linked to artistic creation projects with a strong connection to the territory, landscape, and/or heritage sites.

This new workspace allows us to take the first steps in our “artist residency” model, with the goal of understanding the heritage space and its context as a multifaceted space.

This area is oriented towards research, experimentation, exchange, learning, critical reflection and the dissemination of local practices and knowledge, through dialogue between artisticresearch, communities, territory, places and non-places.

The heritage we call “Mudejar” presents itself to us as a disruption in medieval art, an enclave between Western art and Hispano-Muslim art that still raises questions and captivates all who experience and study it.

This new area of ​​work and knowledge aims to explore emotion and foster creative thinking by generating spaces for dialogue and points of departure between art, science, and technology.

It’s about opening up new processes and directions of knowledge, which are often difficult to channel, to explore new paths through artistic practice with an eye toward the development and preservation of communities and their inhabitants.

BASES

1/ Subject matter and scope

The purpose of this call is to award four research stays and two runner-up prizes to researchers and professionals in the management of cultural and natural heritage for the development of a highly innovative territorial research project within one of the fields of activity or work specified below.

Proposals may address zero or preparatory phases, development phases or piloting and testing phases of ongoing projects.

Proposals must include as a fundamental part of their development a justified physical stay in one or more of the localities of Territorio Mudéjar. The projects presented must demonstrate a direct impact on at least three partner towns of Territorio Mudéjar and provide evidence of the influence of this impact on the rest of the territory.

Objectives:

  • To promote the knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches whose main purpose is to have a positive impact on the villages.
  • To incentivise work with a high territorial impact developed from the experience of people’s habitability.
  • To help the creation and implementation of a working network under a common vision of the possibilities of heritage, cultural and natural resources that helps to strengthen the rest of the sectors through interdisciplinary and collaborative work.
  • To create mechanisms for social participation in the field of heritage resource management from a territorial perspective.

Specific objectives:

  • To promote knowledge of heritage resources in order to encourage the implementation of projects, contribute to better protection and promote the conservation of the Mudejar heritage of the villages.
  • Contribute to a better understanding of UNESCO World Heritage and the benefits it brings to the territory as an international brand.
  • To give special support to projects that refer to the previous sections and that include two or more localities in the Mudejar Territory.
  • To support projects that serve as a framework for action for a wide range of sites or assets, or that propose solutions and formulas that contribute to improving the sustainability and management capacities of Mudejar Heritage at a general level.
  • Support projects that help to promote the social function of cultural heritage.

The areas covered by the call are the following:

AREA 1. New perspectives on Mudejar art

  • Updating data and knowledge on Mudejar heritage in all its diversity: monumental, urban, ethnographic, linguistic, agricultural, hydraulic, geographical, materials, processes, etc.
  • Technical languages ​​applied to Mudejar: planimetry, photogrammetry and 3D Mudejar.
  • Geolocation, cartography and maps.
  • Any topic that allows us to expand the scientific basis on Mudejar art.

AREA 2. Strategic management of Mudejar heritage. Cultural Landscape and Urban Landscape

  • New models of use beyond the classic concept of “tourist or recreational use”
  • Studies of physical, economic and intellectual accessibility
  • Future models for conservation or intervention.
  • Heritage resources and people’s actions
  • Natural and social contexts
  • Interactions between landscape and monumentality

AREA 3. Mudejar heritage: Communication, dissemination and social function as a key element of territorial development

  • Mudejar heritage and media
  • New media discourses
  • Interpretation and accessibility methods for knowledge of Mudejar heritage
  • Emotional bonding as a key element for the care, protection, and management of assets.
  • Population contexts: The value of intergenerational experience
  • Social participation in the valorization, exchange, and collective construction of knowledge and new forms of learning.

AREA 4. Laboratory for “Artist Residencies.” Mudejar Territory as a space for exploring new avenues through artistic thought.

  • Artistic creation and research from the intellectual concept and its reflection in the material, form or processes that characterise Mudejar heritage.
  • Crafts as a living space past, present and future. New considerations from creative thinking or from historical use linked to the establishment and maintenance of historical and current communities.
  • Sound, acoustics, speech, looking and listening. The heritage space as a space for emotional learning of contents.
  • The exploration of an “other place”, real or imaginary, specific or heterogeneous, natural or artificial, temporary or timeless in the heritage space.
  • The construction of the virtual space or metaverse from the need for the existence of the physical heritage space as a connecting thread. Thoughts, proposals and possibilities.

The procedure for awarding grants will be processed on a competitive basis according to the assessment criteria established in the call for applications and, in accordance with Article 22.1 of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, General Law on Subsidies.

2/ Applicants

Proposals may be submitted by natural persons and groups of natural persons without legal personality who fulfil all the requirements of this call for proposals.

The applicant (or group of applicants) may be at an early or intermediate stage of their research career or professional activity and must be able to demonstrate:

  • Higher education related to the areas covered by the call.
  • Documentary accreditation of a minimum of two years of research or professional experience – paid or unpaid –
  • A professional career will be considered equivalent to the completion of specialized studies related to the management of cultural, historical, and artistic heritage, or to any of the proposed work areas, which add up to a minimum of two effective years of training and in which work has been carried out using “Project” methodologies.

The call is not open to legal entities of any kind: companies, partnerships, associations, communities of property or groups under any other type of legal associative formula.

When the project is submitted by two or more persons, the formula is called “team” and each member of the team must be accredited individually.

If the project submitted is part of a research project linked to a university, public research centre or private (non-profit) centre, this must be indicated in the project report.

The acceptance of the project and the development of the stay is compatible with other professional activities as long as the compatibility mode is specified and justified in the project report.

The project submitted may have other sources of funding as long as they are complementary and are specified in the report.

Total income may never exceed the development costs of the projects.

3/ Requirements

  • Hold a Bachelor’s degree, Graduate or Architect’s degree or equivalent.
  • Master’s degree specializing in heritage and/or in the various areas related to heritage, or proof of a minimum of two years of research experience and/or professional career in the field in which the proposal is developed (whether paid or not).
  • Be up to date with their tax and social security obligations, as well as accrediting compliance with obligations for the reimbursement of subsidies.
  • Not be subject to any of the causes established in art. 13 of the LGS.

4/ Deadline for submission

The deadline for submitting applications is Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

Proposals sent by e-mail will be accepted until 23.59 hours (Spanish time).

If the application contains errors that can be rectified, the organisation will inform the applicant so that, within a period of three days from the date of communication, they can proceed to rectify them as an essential condition for the application to be taken into account in the evaluation process.

5/ Characteristics and conditions

Period: The project and internship schedule can be completed until December 24, 2022. The project completion report must be submitted by December 29, 2022.

Duration: Proposals must be developed within a minimum of THREE months and a maximum of FIVE months.

Allocation: Projects will have a maximum financial allocation of €6,000.00 (STAYS) and €4,000.00 (ACCESIT) which must be justified in the project report according to the expenses indicated in the following section.

Expenses attributable to the grant: In all proposals, the budget must identify the concepts subject to and directly derived from the needs of the project—for example: expenses derived from the development of the work, materials, travel, maintenance, accommodation, etc.—including, if applicable, the corresponding taxes, as well as payment for reproduction, exhibition, and public communication rights, if the project requires it.

Proposals included in Area 4 must also include, if the project requires it, all the elements necessary for the complete execution of the artistic work: materials, permits, auxiliary means, etc.

In the event that the project has other sources of funding, the following must be specified: Entity, duration, actions financed (object and content) and to which part of the project it is addressed.

Compatibility: The development of the stay is compatible with other work, professional or research activities justified to the organisation. The project must indicate the degree of compatibility and the method of work to be carried out in order to avoid overlapping and non-compliance with the conditions indicated in this call.

Number of calls: Beneficiaries may not obtain full support in more than two consecutive calls for the same project. Therefore, resident researchers who have been beneficiaries in the last two calls will not be eligible to apply for the call and will be excluded if they do so.

** Exceptionally, researchers who have not exceeded the amount of €12,000.00 in two consecutive calls may be considered as beneficiaries if they have been awarded an accesit in previous years’ calls.

Others:

The beneficiaries will be included in the entity’s civil liability insurance.

Beneficiaries shall not enter into any kind of employment relationship with the entity.

All aid shall be subject to deductions and taxes as stipulated in the legislation in force, which shall be deducted from the corresponding financial envelope.

6/ Applications

Applications should be sent to the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar in digital format to the following e-mail address: info@territoriomudejar.es

  1. Application-Basic identification data of the applicant and the project
  2. Copy of ID card.
  3. Summary of the applicant/s professional career (maximum 2,000 characters)
  4. Project/proposal summary (max. 2,000 characters)
  5. Abbreviated academic and professional CV (max. 5 pages)
  6. Five developed works that, in the applicant’s opinion, are relevant as a starting point for the proposal (Summary of each project of max. 2,000 characters).
  7. Report on the project to be carried out, including (max. 5 pages): Title; Background and current status of the subject; Hypothesis, methodology, work plan and timetable; Description of the specific objectives of the project; Locations directly and indirectly affected by the proposal; Location or locations proposed for the stay and expected length of stay; Detailed budget for the research, which will refer to the amount requested.
  8. Optionally, a letter of recommendation from a relevant person in the field of the proposed work may be provided.
  9. In the case of teams, both the application and the award decision must expressly state the implementation commitments undertaken by each member of the team, as well as the amount of subsidy to be applied by each of them, who will also be considered as beneficiaries. A sole representative or proxy of the grouping must be appointed, with sufficient powers to fulfil the obligations which, as beneficiary, correspond to the grouping. The team will undertake not to dissolve the grouping until the limitation period provided for in Articles 39 and 65 of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2003 has elapsed.

7/ Selection process and criteria

The project selection process will be carried out on the basis of the evaluations of the Scientific Committee and the entity’s management team, which will draw up a ranking according to the following criteria:

  • Curricular profile, training and previous achievements of the applicant: 10%. The orientation of the curricular profile in relation to the area of work chosen by the applicant will be assessed.
  • Quality of the project and innovative nature of the proposal: 30%. The project must be well thought out and presented in a rigorous and detailed manner. The framework of objectives/actions/resources/budget must be well planned. The timetable must be realistic. The project should provide for its evaluation and future viability.
  • Territory of impact / number of localities involved: 35%. The way in which the project acts on the territory will be assessed. It may be a direct present or future impact, but in any case it will be an essential requirement. It will be highly valued to foresee a realistic impact without falling into the tendentious and mediatic.
  • Complementary activities involving the local population: 15%. An activity involving the local population in the development of the project will be assessed. Involvement does not necessarily have to be through a cultural activity. The introduction of activities that have an unconventional cultural impact will be valued.
  • Digitisation strategy Mudejar Territory: 10%. Adaptation of the expected results to the criteria published for the “Common European Space for Cultural Heritage”. Contribution of ideas and perspectives.

8/ Evaluation and resolution

The decision on the grants will be announced starting Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

The call may be declared totally or partially void and the decision of the commissions shall be final.

Once the call has been resolved, the list of beneficiaries and the composition of the evaluation commission will be published on the Territorio Mudéjar Association’s website www.territoriomudejar.es.

In no case will individualised information on the applications received or on the deliberation of the evaluation committee be provided.

9/ Formalisation, justification and payment of aid

Formalization: Beneficiaries must sign the acceptance agreement, which will serve as an essential document for receiving the grant, before the project start date, according to the schedule, and no later than August 1, 2022. Once the acceptance agreement has been signed, they must join the project on the date indicated on the schedule.

Payment: The grant will be paid in three instalments: 40% at the start, once the acceptance commitment has been signed; 40% halfway through the project; and the remaining 20% on delivery of the final project report. These conditions will be general to all beneficiaries unless, exceptionally, the project report justifies the need for a different financial distribution over time.

Justification and presentation of results:

Beneficiaries will be obliged to justify compliance with the requirements and conditions established in this call for proposals by means of: An intermediate report halfway through the stay that allows the progress of the project to be evaluated. A final report on digital support of the project describing objectives, fulfilment of aims and results; and a financial report justifying the cost of the activities carried out.

Beneficiaries must deliver to Territorio Mudéjar all the results derived from the project financed according to the proposal presented in the application, it being understood that this proposal will act as a contractual document for the grants.

In the case of works subject to intellectual property, current legislation will be applied with regard to authorship and the transfer of rights of use and reproduction will be assigned to Territorio Mudéjar.

Financial control:

The interim report shall include a revision of the estimated budget either confirming its continuity or proposing necessary adjustments where justified.

The final report shall include a detailed financial report as follows:

  • A list of expenses incurred indicating the creditor, amount, date of issue and payment. As the project includes an estimated budget, the list of expenses will be classified according to the items of the subsidised project or activity. Where applicable, any deviations that may have occurred in the development of the project must be justified.
  • Proof of payment: Invoices, tickets or supporting documents and proof of payment. If the payment has been made in cash, this must be indicated on the expense document with the concept correctly specified.
  • The justification of fees shall be made by sworn declaration and shall be detailed in the report according to the results developed, specifying the working hours assigned to the actions carried out.
  • The justification of mileage expenses shall be made by means of a sworn statement and a detail shall be included in the report according to the results developed, specifying the journeys made and assigned to specific actions.

Non-compliance:

The aid will be cancelled and the amounts received will be reimbursed when the conditions established in these rules are not fulfilled and in general in the cases established in article 37 of the General Law on Subsidies.

10/ Dissemination of project results

The Asociación Territorio Mudéjar may request the collaboration of the beneficiaries of the grants in activities to disseminate the projects. To this end, the beneficiary will provide the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar with all the information and documentation required and will grant the latter, free of charge, the appropriate rights for the dissemination of the results.

Beneficiaries must mention the source of the aid on their materials or results using the phrase “Project carried out with funding from Territorio Mudéjar through the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis 2022 Estancias call” and include the entity’s logo whenever possible.

For its part, the association Territorio Mudéjar will always identify the authorship of the projects.

11/ Acceptance of the rules

Participation in this call for applications implies acceptance of its rules and its decision, which shall be final, as well as the waiver of any type of claim.

Exceptionally and for duly justified reasons, the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar reserves the right to interpret and modify the wording of the rules in order to clarify or specify their content, without this implying a substantial or arbitrary alteration of the same.

For any queries, applicants may contact the Asociación Territorio Mudéjar by e-mail at info@territoriomudejar.es

Aragonese Mudejar, in an exhibition at the Retiro Park in Madrid

This year, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and future of its application in our territories and communities. Throughout this year, a series of activities organized by the various World Heritage managers in Spain will take place.

Among the activities of the Ministry of Culture, Education, and Sport is a photography exhibition at the Retiro Park in Madrid. This exhibition was on view these past few weeks and included a display of Aragonese Mudejar heritage declared a World Heritage Site, specifically the Collegiate Church of Calatayud.

Mudejar Territory incorporates four localities and now has a network of 41 municipalities working for Mudejar culture.

Territorio Mudéjar has added four municipalities to its network, bringing the total number of associated towns to 41. These towns will benefit from a program of activities to strengthen the management, research, and dissemination of Mudejar heritage, as well as the creation of a network of professionals and jobs linked to the management of these historical and artistic resources. The association of municipalities, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council, recently held its annual meeting, during which it ratified the inclusion of the towns of Utebo—where the Mudejar tower of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción stands out—Alpartir—with a Mudejar legacy that survives in its urban planning, traditions, and landscape—Villarroya de la Sierra—where the influence can be seen in the water system, construction systems, and urban planning—and Acered—with the plasterwork of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin as its representatives.

At the meeting, chaired by the mayor of Tobed, Juan Antonio Sánchez Quero, and attended by the mayors of the member municipalities, Victoria Trasobares, director of the organization, presented the plan of activities being developed for 2022.

This program maintains a commitment to research on Mudejar culture through the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Internships and Projects (a new call will be announced soon), the search for best practices, curricular and extracurricular internships, and participation in programs such as Desafío (Challenge), internships for recent graduates, UNITA, and Circular por la Escuela Rural (Circular through Rural Schools), the latter of which aims to generate value for schools and encourage the selection of rural schools as permanent destinations for teachers. It also works to professionalize the profiles dedicated to heritage management and to provide a decidedly innovative approach to all its activities with the participation of local stakeholders.

Added to this is the research-based digitization strategy with the project “Study of Aragonese Mudejar Art, Legacy of Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis.” This project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, aims to provide quality content for all projects launched and generate activity in the municipalities with the presence of highly qualified professionals.


As part of its commitment to disseminating the Mudejar heritage, this year the association will continue with thematic routes to promote both the historical and artistic heritage of each town and its other tourist attractions: hospitality, commerce, crafts, nature, and gastronomy. Likewise, the dissemination of heritage will be enhanced through media specials, podcast routes as audio guides, and through the information center to address and forward all tourist requests (24-hour telephone: 976 633 296). Territorio Mudéjar was founded in 2018, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council as an association of municipalities whose objective is to strengthen a unified and collaborative management network for the use of historical and artistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage. These resources are understood as an engine of development for towns and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up the territory.

Territorio Mudéjar has added four municipalities to its network, bringing the total number of associated towns to 41. These towns will benefit from a program of activities to strengthen the management, research, and dissemination of Mudejar heritage, as well as the creation of a network of professionals and jobs linked to the management of these historical and artistic resources. The association of municipalities, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council, recently held its annual meeting, during which it ratified the inclusion of the towns of Utebo—where the Mudejar tower of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción stands out—Alpartir—with a Mudejar legacy that survives in its urban planning, traditions, and landscape—Villarroya de la Sierra—where the influence can be seen in the water system, construction systems, and urban planning—and Acered—with the plasterwork of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin as its representatives.

At the meeting, chaired by the mayor of Tobed, Juan Antonio Sánchez Quero, and attended by the mayors of the member municipalities, Victoria Trasobares, director of the organization, presented the plan of activities being developed for 2022.

This program maintains a commitment to research on Mudejar culture through the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Internships and Projects (a new call will be announced soon), the search for best practices, curricular and extracurricular internships, and participation in programs such as Desafío (Challenge), internships for recent graduates, UNITA, and Circular por la Escuela Rural (Circular through Rural Schools), the latter of which aims to generate value for schools and encourage the selection of rural schools as permanent destinations for teachers. It also works to professionalize the profiles dedicated to heritage management and to provide a decidedly innovative approach to all its activities with the participation of local stakeholders.

Added to this is the research-based digitization strategy with the project “Study of Aragonese Mudejar Art, Legacy of Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis.” This project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, aims to provide quality content for all projects launched and generate activity in the municipalities with the presence of highly qualified professionals.


As part of its commitment to disseminating the Mudejar heritage, this year the association will continue with thematic routes to promote both the historical and artistic heritage of each town and its other tourist attractions: hospitality, commerce, crafts, nature, and gastronomy. Likewise, the dissemination of heritage will be enhanced through media specials, podcast routes as audio guides, and through the information center to address and forward all tourist requests (24-hour telephone: 976 633 296). Territorio Mudéjar was founded in 2018, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council as an association of municipalities whose objective is to strengthen a unified and collaborative management network for the use of historical and artistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage. These resources are understood as an engine of development for towns and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up the territory.

Territorio Mudéjar has added four municipalities to its network, bringing the total number of associated towns to 41. These towns will benefit from a program of activities to strengthen the management, research, and dissemination of Mudejar heritage, as well as the creation of a network of professionals and jobs linked to the management of these historical and artistic resources. The association of municipalities, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council, recently held its annual meeting, during which it ratified the inclusion of the towns of Utebo—where the Mudejar tower of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción stands out—Alpartir—with a Mudejar legacy that survives in its urban planning, traditions, and landscape—Villarroya de la Sierra—where the influence can be seen in the water system, construction systems, and urban planning—and Acered—with the plasterwork of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin as its representatives.

At the meeting, chaired by the mayor of Tobed, Juan Antonio Sánchez Quero, and attended by the mayors of the member municipalities, Victoria Trasobares, director of the organization, presented the plan of activities being developed for 2022.

This program maintains a commitment to research on Mudejar culture through the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Internships and Projects (a new call will be announced soon), the search for best practices, curricular and extracurricular internships, and participation in programs such as Desafío (Challenge), internships for recent graduates, UNITA, and Circular por la Escuela Rural (Circular through Rural Schools), the latter of which aims to generate value for schools and encourage the selection of rural schools as permanent destinations for teachers. It also works to professionalize the profiles dedicated to heritage management and to provide a decidedly innovative approach to all its activities with the participation of local stakeholders.

Added to this is the research-based digitization strategy with the project “Study of Aragonese Mudejar Art, Legacy of Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis.” This project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, aims to provide quality content for all projects launched and generate activity in the municipalities with the presence of highly qualified professionals.


As part of its commitment to disseminating the Mudejar heritage, this year the association will continue with thematic routes to promote both the historical and artistic heritage of each town and its other tourist attractions: hospitality, commerce, crafts, nature, and gastronomy. Likewise, the dissemination of heritage will be enhanced through media specials, podcast routes as audio guides, and through the information center to address and forward all tourist requests (24-hour telephone: 976 633 296). Territorio Mudéjar was founded in 2018, promoted by the Zaragoza Provincial Council as an association of municipalities whose objective is to strengthen a unified and collaborative management network for the use of historical and artistic resources linked to the important Mudejar heritage. These resources are understood as an engine of development for towns and as an element of identity for the maintenance of the communities that make up the territory.

Happy International Museum Day

Territorio Mudéjar celebrates International Museum Day by remembering that museums are cultural hubs that help us learn about and understand our heritage.

In our case, they are part of our daily work and enrich our communities by providing an innovative space where we can learn about the past, understand the present, and imagine the future.

Or to put it another way, museums have the power to transform the world around us. As incomparable places of discovery, they teach us about our past and open our minds to new ideas—two essential steps toward building a better future.

And in this, we work in alignment with ICOM and the SDGs, and we are aware of being a strategic player in the management and development of local communities and an agent of change and innovation through education, knowledge, digitalization, and accessibility to our heritage.

We look forward to seeing you at Territorio Mudéjar to learn about our heritage and innovation spaces.

Mudéjar Territory showcases the potential of its heritage at ARATUR

Territorio Mudéjar returns to the Aragonese Tourism Fair (ARATUR), which held its 16th edition at the Zaragoza Conference Center from May 13 to 15 to a huge success. Some 13,000 people visited the fair, where Territorio Mudéjar had an exhibit where guided tours were offered and projects were presented:

  • Mudetrad, which seeks to enhance the territory through the recognition and dissemination of its traditional architecture.
  • Mudejar Wood, an online video publication that serves as a comprehensive guide to all the historic carpentry found in the towns of the Mudejar Territory
  • Podcast, a project to communicate about the Mudejar territory through a series of thematic podcasts that enhance, encourage, and complement visits to the area.

A raffle has also been held for two people to go to a village in the Mudejar Territory.

In total, around 300 people participated in the raffle, and more than 200 participated in the visits and project presentations held at the booth.

The stand was visited by, among others, the Director General of Tourism of the Government of Aragon, Gloria Pérez; Víctor Ruiz De Diego, Senator for the province of Zaragoza; Michel Arenas, President of the Calatayud DOP and Manager of the Calatayud Wine Route; Jose Ángel Calvo, Mayor of Gotor and President of the Aranda Region; and Agustín Serra, Manager of the sustainability plan The Hidden Face of Moncayo.

There they were welcomed by Territorio Mudéjar’s director, Victoria Trasobares, and collaborators Derry Holgado and Maru Gallego.

Study trip to the Netherlands to explore best practices within the framework of the MOMAr project

The European MOMAr (Models of Management for Singular Rural Heritage) project, led by the Provincial Council of Zaragoza and in which Territorio Mudéjar participates, has brought together 28 heritage experts, including a delegation from Zaragoza, on a study visit to the province of Groningen (Netherlands). The goal is to exchange best practices and learn about Dutch management models firsthand.

The visit took place on April 27 and 28 and was attended by the Zaragoza Provincial Council, including Juan José Borque, coordinator of the Citizenship Department, and Mª Carmen Gracia, head of the Culture Service; Victoria Trasobares, director of Territorio Mudéjar; three of the mayors who belong to the association: Maria Rosario Lázaro, mayor of Villarreal de Huerva; Marta Gracia Blanco, mayor of Almunia de Doña Godina; and Alfonso Puertas, mayor of Torralba de Ribota; and Julio Zaldívar, manager of the Tarazona Monumental Foundation.

MOMAr’s European partners from Mehedinti County (Romania), the Saxony-Anhalt region (Germany), South Bohemia (Czech Republic), the Dutch hosts, and the project’s technical advisory committee, formed by Irene Ruiz and Marisa Sebastián, also participated.

This study visit is the third of a total of four, which seek to exchange knowledge on asset management models among European experts, all from rural areas. The ultimate goal is to import best practices and, with them, develop an Action Plan in which each region will develop new proposals for improving local projects.

The rehabilitation of historical heritage, giving it new social and educational uses for the benefit of local communities, through cooperation between public administrations and private properties, marked the practical visits on this trip.

The first stop on the tour was Maarhuizen, an architectural complex located atop an artificial mound, remnant of what was once a farming village centuries ago. Today, one of its former farms is being reconstructed as part of a holistic project seeking to create a cultural and natural meeting point, involving educational centers in the rehabilitation process.

We visited one of the churches of the Groningen Historic Church Foundation. This organization manages nearly 100 churches, most of them medieval and privately owned. In these churches, religious space has become a community space, open to the public and serving social purposes. Proof of this is the exhibition “Festivity! In the East and in the West,” located in a restored medieval tower and exploring celebrations of different religions (Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim). Through an interactive experience, the exhibition seeks to create common ground between different faiths and open up a non-judgmental intercultural dialogue among its visitors.

The expedition also approached the Wadden Sea, the largest intertidal flat system in the world, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its unique geological and ecological values ​​and high biological diversity.

The rural region of Oldamst, located near the German border, was the focus of experts’ attention during the second day of work. This area was considered the breadbasket of Holland decades ago thanks to its fertile land. However, depopulation and the loss of local agriculture have left hundreds of farms abandoned or in serious danger of collapse. Adding to this process of degradation are earthquakes, largely caused by gas extraction, and soil oxidation, which causes significant subsidence. Thus, an enormous historical heritage, in private hands, faces the costly challenge of reconstruction and rehabilitation, but they are not doing it alone, as public administrations are contributing financially and strategically to the preservation of these centuries-old buildings.

Circular from the rural school: exchange between the schools of Alparir and Ricla

The Circular project from the rural school advances and has allowed us to share a special exchange between the schools of Ricla and Alpartir in which students have been able to learn about the heritage of another locality and show their own to other classmates. This twinning activity has been a peer-to-peer and cooperative learning experience in which students have interacted with other students to achieve educational objectives.

The first visit took place on 30 March. The third year primary pupils of the CEIP Maestro Monreal de Ricla welcomed the pupils of the CEIP Ramoìn y Cajal de Alpartir and told them the first ideas about the local mudeìjar and the cultural landscape.

They visited the ‘Aula mudéjar’, a museum space dedicated to exhibiting everything that has been worked on, adding period costumes and handicrafts.

The Alpartir schoolchildren then strolled through the streets of Ricla – full of twists and turns, alleyways and lanes – to reach the church of the Assumption with its slender Mudejar tower.

There, the pupils learned about the most important moments of the church (which was built in three stages) from Hilario, the parish priest. They also climbed to the top of the tower, from where they could see the town planning of Ricla, which we also talked about later.

There was time to go up to the castle of Muslim origin, although it is very much renovated, the result of an interesting existence. Today it has the appearance of a manor house and shows its great past importance as a defensive position.

The children from Ricla returned the visit to their classmates from Alpartir on 6 April. The Alpartir school team was in charge of welcoming the guests at a reception attended by the mayoress of Alpartir, Marta Gimeno, and the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares.

They then began the tour with a first stop at a point in the town from which La Almunia de Doña Godina, another of the towns that form part of the Mudejar Territory network, can be seen. Allí hicieron una presentación sobre los mudéjares, su forma de vida y el legado que todavía hoy conservamos. Además, aprendieron el origen del nombre de La Almunia de Doña Godina (Al-munia significa «huerto» y su apellido lo tomó de Doña Godina, una rica propietaria de Cabañas que en el siglo XII). La segunda parada dio a los participantes una perspectiva de Alpartir y de su entorno urbano que les permitió aprender sobre el caserío y la distribución de sus calles. Y el recorrido llegó hasta la calle de los obradores, donde conocieron los restos de un antiguo alfar.

The excursion was accompanied by a musical atmosphere and served to learn about the orientation of the village and the reason why it is on an “m” shaped slope, the importance of agriculture was also discussed and, of course, they went to the church, where they recognised elements such as the alabaster, the colopial arch and other decorative motifs.

The schoolchildren took part in various workshops. Among them, a crossword puzzle with words related to heritage or another in which they had to help Maribel, a historical character who ‘lands’ in the year 2022 somewhat disoriented and who must be helped so that she can get the building materials she needs. They also learnt to relate the Mudejar towers of our villages with their names and were introduced to the art of construction: sticks and plasticine were the raw materials with which they had to put themselves to the test to build towers of between two and five storeys high.

They also learned traditional crafts and became tanners for a day to learn how to make their own purses.

Circular from the Rural School allows learning by doing with an active, globalising, playful and participative methodology that manages to motivate students and helps them to gain knowledge about heritage.

Circular from the Rural School is a cooperation project between rural development groups coordinated by the Adri Calatayud-Aranda group, together with CEDEMAR, Adefo Cinco Villas, Asomo Moncayo, ADRAE Comarca Ribera Alta del Ebro – Zaragoza, Fedivalca and ADRI Jiloca-Gallocanta, and financed by the Government of Aragón through the Leader programme, and the Diputación de Zaragoza through the Territorio Mudéjar association, as a private collaborating entity that manages the implementation and execution of the initiative.

Circular from the rural school broadens horizons: Tobed, the first school to host the event

Last week, the students of Tobed (CRA Vicort-Isuela), where in 2017 the didactic pilot project that was the seed of Circular from the Rural School was developed, hosted the students of the SchoolHouse Zaragoza school.

The project continues to grow because we are extending the presentations to schools beyond the localities of Territorio Mudéjar. It is a small test that opens up a wide range of possibilities.

After a great welcome at the Mudejar Museum “Espacio Mudéjar Mahoma Calahorri”, Marta and Diego, 5th grade and 3rd grade students, respectively, from the Tobed school, accompanied and helped Eugenia Gallego, who is part of our network of professionals, explaining the details of the location, landscape and urban planning.

They then visited the Mudejar church of the Virgin, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001, learnt how bread and sweets are prepared in the “Horno de Pan Cocer”, walked and played around the village to get to know its heritage.

In this way, the schoolchildren of Zaragoza had a first contact with the Mudejar that helps them to begin to identify concepts and to value and care for heritage.