Territorio Mudéjar puts its projects on the road into practice at the Grasshopper Festival in Torralba de Ribota.

This summer we are continuing to make territory and participating in the activities programmed in our villages. This weekend we were at the Grasshopper Festival in Torralba de Ribota.

This event aims to generate an experience that favours meeting and exchange between the inhabitants of the village and visitors, both urban and from the region.

The differentiating value of this festival is that the public can access places that they do not usually have the opportunity to see, thus broadening the vital experience of getting closer to rural life and its small details.

In short, it seeks to create bridges between the town and the city, reactivate the territory and attract new audiences.

And we were there to contribute to that end with our Projects en route, thanks to which we took a walk through Torralba de Ribota talking about culture, history and Mudejar heritage.

Thank you for counting on us to enjoy this great opportunity to experience the town together and to see how artists, inhabitants and public mingle in a creative environment where culture is the protagonist.

Study visit to Territorio Mudéjar with experts from Cordoba, USA and Qatar

This Tuesday, Territorio Mudéjar held a study visit to its localities in which the director of the organisation, Victoria Trasobares, was accompanied by Bárbara Ruiz Bejarano, professor of Islamic studies at the University of Alicante and project director of the Las Fuentes Foundation with its headquarters in Córdoba.

Attiya Ahmad, Associate Professor at George Washington University (Washington DC); Hadeel alhosani, Reem jassim, members of the Qasd Foundation (Qatar) also participated in the meeting. All of them related to the Medina Network.

The study visit covered the towns of Daroca, Morata de Jiloca, Maluenda and Tobed, where Mudejar culture was explained in its broadest sense, covering monuments, civil architecture, town planning, landscape and trades and traditions.

Maluenda
Morata de Jiloca
Daroca

Territorio Mudéjar brings Mudejar heritage and culture to the Armantes Wine Festival in Cervera de la Cañada

Summer is a time for festivals and in them, we can always find a space to talk about our heritage.

This Saturday we were invited to participate in the Armantes Wine Festival in Cervera de la Cañada, a meeting organised by the cultural association Los Bubillos to focus on the enormous potential of the town: for its Mudejar church declared World Heritage by UNESCO, for its spectacular landscape of ancient vineyards, for the Armantes mountain range and for its gastronomy and human wealth.

At this festival, the children of Cervera showed us their work inside the church. An activity in line with our project Circular from the rural school, in which we want the youngest children to understand, appreciate and help us to promote the heritage of their localities.

Territorio Mudéjar took part in a presentation in which we explained our raison d’être and developed the activity ‘Proyectos en ruta, un paseo por Cervera’ (Projects en route, a walk around Cervera). We talked about the cultural and landscape heritage of the area and, of course, we made a special stop at the Mudejar jewel: the church of the Assumption or Santa Tecla, the work of the master builder Mahoma Rami. This fortress church, which the visitor finds austere in appearance, hides in its interior an impressive painted and stapled mural decoration, plasterwork in the windows and the parapet of the choir loft, in late Gothic style, and splendid Mudejar pottery.

Thank you very much for inviting us!

Territorio Mudéjar will launch a new call for research stays on June 1, with two new features: digital strategy as a vehicle for innovation and the incorporation of the creative field through the modality of “artist residencies”

On June 1, Territorio Mudéjar will open the fourth edition of the “Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis” Fieldwork Stays and Projects, aimed at directly supporting the work of researchers and project promoters who want to work on the development of the towns based on the responsible and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage resources.

The call offers advice on possible projects for all those professionals who need guidance regarding what kind of proposals can be submitted.

For this reason, we invite you to the presentation programme, where we will explain the rules for participation and you will get to know the results of the projects and the researchers of the 2021 stays.

Each presentation will include an activity related to the project and the space chosen. We look forward to seeing you!

🔴 The first presentation will take place on Wednesday, June 1, at 18.30 with the collaboration of the Monasterio de las Canonesas del Santo Sepulcro.

There, researchers Myriam Monterde, Elisa Plana, David Guirao and José Manuel Herráiz will explain the project Educational Mudejar: the guide.

The stay has focused on the creation of educational material for primary and secondary school students in order to help them interpret the Mudejar through a combination of illustrations and real images as well as to value its rich legacy.

🔴 On Thursday, June 2, at 18.30 in the parish church of San Félix in Torralba de Ribota, Laura Villacampa, Ignacio Pérez Bailón and Javier Gómez Patrocinio will present the project Preventive Urbanism, a tool to take care of our towns.

This research stay offers an analysis and comparative study of the urban planning regulations governing architectural interventions in various towns in the Mudejar Territory.

🔴 On Friday, June 3, at 18.30 in the church of San Miguel de Daroca, María Amor Borque and Serge Dambrine will present Scenic Mudejar, a challenge.

This study has focused on defining strategies in the territory that promote Mudejar identity and reinforce its professional networks through research, creation and artistic dissemination in the field of musical and performance art. It has also designed actions that will enable the programming of future performing art events in the region.

🔴 On Sunday, June 5, at 11.30 a.m. in the church of La Virgen de Tobed, Chema Agustín will present the project The Mudejar and Euclidean geometry or plane geometry.

This fieldwork stay deals with the plastic study of the Aragonese Mudejar in the area of the Mudejar Territory and, by extension, in the province of Zaragoza. The project has made it possible to collect and study Mudejar layout, studying it in depth and with geometric rigour.

These activities are free of charge and prior registration is recommended until 18.00 the day before the activity takes place, by telephone (+34 876 634 125), Whatsapp (+34 649 799 405) or email (info@territoriomudejar.es)

We will soon give the details of the event and inform you of all the news and we hope you will participate. See you in Territorio Mudéjar!

Territorio Mudéjar and the DPZ launch the second edition of their guided tours to discover and enjoy this unique style.

Territorio Mudéjar, viaje a la belleza’ (Mudejar Territory, a journey to beauty) offers 12 tours around the province based on the Mudejar jewels of 40 municipalities. They will begin on 2 July and can be booked on the association’s website.

With the Mudejar as the common thread, these routes aim to disseminate and promote the historical and artistic heritage of the localities, as well as other tourist attractions (trade, crafts, nature, gastronomy…).

One of the novelties this year is the collaboration with local producers.

All the information can be found in the 10,000 leaflets published. A QR code appears on them, which can be used to reserve a place for a visit, a procedure that can also be carried out on the Territorio Mudéjar website, by calling 876 634 125 or sending an email to rutas@territoriomudejar.es.

‘They are very accessible, close and comfortable routes, in which we try to disseminate the great Mudejar heritage of our province through local professionals, which at the same time serve to make lesser-known localities more visible’, explains Victoria Trasobares.

Along the routes, visitors can enjoy the urban beauty of the coexistence of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim populations, the emergence of the key works of the 14th and 15th centuries such as the fortress churches and towers and of course the Mudejar architectural jewels of the province which have been declared World Heritage Sites by Unesco.

Will you join us?

BOOK HERE: https://www.territoriomudejar.es/rutas-territorio…/

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.