Territorio Mudéjar: history from all its perspectives in the magazine Nsencia

We have the latest issue of Nsenzia magazine in which you can discover more about Territorio Mudéjar in a report that talks about our work and key projects.

Here is a sneak preview:

Montesquieu said that “happy are the people whose history is read with boredom”, because of the advantages of being aware of one’s roots and where we are going.

Nowadays it is something that is paraphrased but never put into practice, leading to a loss of identity and a host of petty mistakes. Fortunately, there is still a love of research and humanity.

Heritage, says Victoria Trasobares -director-, is the fourth pillar of development; this is how she conveys it in Territorio Mudéjar with an ambitious team in love with the possibilities of the historical identity of our territory.

A neat professional who knows the weight of the new generations, she offers an opportunity to students and professionals at different stages of their careers who are willing to reproduce such lessons, while discussing with them the best strategies to highlight the social function of the authentic spirit of each area.

The ‘Journey to Beauty’ route is a journey that faithfully traces the foundations of what rural evolution has presented and whose work has been adapted to the characteristics without leaving aside the present, as one of its objectives is to demonstrate – from the cultural fusion – how the chinks of the past are part of today. An ambitious work that not only deserves the recognition that characterises it: it is a clear example to follow in the protection of the echoes of a legacy.

Territorio Mudéjar returns to FITUR with its UNESCO World Heritage mark

Aragon conquered FITUR 2023 with its heritage and Territorio Mudéjar was there with our World Heritage brand that we were able to see in 360 degrees.

Once again this year, we attended the International Tourism Fair held at IFEMA (Madrid), one of the main international meetings of the tourism sector. The Aragonese stand this year focused on the cultural and natural assets of Aragon declared World Heritage by UNESCO: Aragonese Mudejar art, the Aragonese section of the Way of St. James, the Pyrenees-Monte Perdido and the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arc.

In this way, the aim was to showcase the Community’s heritage and, at the same time, the wide range of leisure and active tourism activities and products such as ecotourism, wine tourism, astro-tourism, family tourism, gastronomy, slowdriving, etc.

The director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, attended the fair and accompanied the European Heritage Institute in the presentation of the network of medinas.

Special interview on the anniversary of the declaration of the Mudejar as World Heritage in Nsencia magazine.

January brings us a special interview with the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, in the latest issue of Nsencia, in which we take a closer look at the work of the organisation.

“We work on designing and developing strategies and implementing projects designed from a deep understanding of heritage resources as part of the development of rural communities and their inhabitants. We work in dispersed and sparsely populated places and with tailor-made models It’s no use copying what has been successful elsewhere, because it’s not the same to manage heritage in a town of 700,000 inhabitants as in another town of 100″, explains Victoria Trasobares.

And when asked if we still have a lot to know, he says: “Of course. The monuments and the context in which they are located influence the development of the communities and the territory. It is more necessary than ever to continue researching, but incorporating new visions, showing the work processes, the results, the people behind them and the proximity to the field”.

“We have launched 45 projects, 23 of which have arisen from the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis research stays and projects, an example of innovation inside and outside Spain. This initiative implements actions in pilot mode and offers results in research, communication and development-investment-financing. As an example, we have studied topics such as materials and techniques from the permanence of the trade, the conservation of buildings from the design of new uses while respecting historical uses, the communication of heritage and its social function, education and digitisation,” explains Victoria Trasobares.

How can projects be made to have an impact on the territory?

“With constant work, thinking strategically to highlight the uniqueness of our localities from the heritage point of view and looking for common lines of work. We try to connect with all the economic activities of the territory, generating high quality dynamics applied through professional networks. Perhaps our best skill is to find people with a forward-looking approach, who work in the medium or long term without losing sight of the present,” he adds.

One of your main actions to raise awareness of the Mudejar style has been the “Rutas Territorio Mudéjar, viaje a la belleza” (Mudejar Territory Routes, a journey to beauty). What does this temporary journey offer?

“The project is an example of the vision we have of heritage and its use for tourism. They are heritage routes to cultivate the spirit and to show a cultural leisure designed to suit the localities we visit, counting on the people. With our trainees, we are looking for a way to connect with new audiences. In this way, travellers find a heritage shown by professionals, with very careful logistics and personalised attention”.

The Journey to Beauty route rounds off the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the declaration of the Mudejar as World Heritage

More than 80 people took part in the special Territorio Mudéjar route through Calatayud, Cervera de la Cañada and Tobed, which brings to a close the celebrations of the 20th anniversary year of the declaration of the Mudejar as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The event was attended by researchers, students, professionals and collaborators who work with the organisation under the direction of Victoria Trasobares. In addition, specialists such as Professor Esteban Sarasa, an expert in Aragonese medieval history, the architect Javier Ibargüen, representatives of the town councils of Calatayud, Cervera de la Cañada and Tobed, José Manuel Aranda, José Manuel Gimeno, Nuria Amela and Pascual Royo, the mayor of Ateca, Ramón Cristóbal, as well as the congresswoman Noemí Villagrasa, also took part in the event.

It not only included visits to monuments declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the collegiate church of Santa María in Calatayud, the church of Santa Tecla in Cervera de la Cañada and the church of the Virgin of Tobed, but also included exclusive visits to unusual places such as the viewpoints of the Mocha Tower in Calatayud: the viewpoints of the Torre Mocha in Calatayud as part of an interesting itinerary through the Moorish and Jewish quarter of Calatayud by Javier Gómez Patrocinio and Laura Villacampa, authors of the Mudetrad project; micro concerts of viola da gamba, lute and flutes in the churches of Cervera de la Cañada and Tobed by Carlos Bonal and Fernando Marín, a work derived from the research stay that studies the acoustics of Mudejar buildings; a tour of the coastal paths of the churches of Cervera and Tobed, to finish in the Mudéjar Museum of Tobed with a tasting of local gastronomic products including a sample of wines from the D. O. Borja, Cariñena, Cariñena, Cariñena, Cariñena, Cariñena, Cariñena, Cariñena and Cariñena.O. of Borja, Cariñena and Calatayud.

The conference was a tour of the main projects that the Territorio Mudéjar network is developing in the 40 partner villages. “It has been a technical day through a very special journey through the heritage of our villages in which we have shown some of the results that are having our research stays that, in its fourth call, already have an international character and that allow us to deepen our knowledge of the Mudejar. We have interspersed walks and visits with explanations of projects. We have also done it in a special way, for example, with live music resulting from the work of our research stays, short 12-minute concerts in each of the buildings we have visited. The experience has been magnificent, the attendees have known all the work we do and its processes through a visual and experiential catalogue”, explains the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares.

Today we have also taken the opportunity to present the latest issue of the magazine Nsencia, in which Territorio Mudéjar and its 40 partner villages have a special role.

Visit of the AMIR project, a network of museums that promotes cultural mediation activities carried out by migrants.

A few days ago we hosted a visit from the AMIR project (Accoglienza, musei, inclusione e relazione – hospitality, museums, inclusion and relationship).

This is a project managed by a network of museums that aims to propose cultural mediation activities carried out by migrants. It currently consists of 20 mediators and 11 museums, collections, villages, churches and public spaces in Florence and Fiesole.

AMIR is a project curated by Utopia Station and the thematic museum network Musei di Tutti.

The project leaders Chiara Damian and Silvia Borsotti travelled to Territorio Mudéjar. Also involved in the project as cultural mediators were Nagham Khalil (graduate in archaeology), Luisa Romano (graduate in history and art history), Marwa Elaomaryine (graduate in economics and commerce) and Patrik Padilla (graduate in economics and commerce).

This is a European funded project through Erasmus +. The visiting organisation is a social cooperative Stazione Utopia and they work at the museum in Fiessole, a town near Florence, with whose university they are connected.

The group participates in a seminar on cultural mediation to talk about its work on the integration of young first generation migrants through culture and museums.

The group visited us accompanied by Pilar Biel (professor of Art History and director of the master’s degree in cultural heritage management at the University of Zaragoza) and Jorge Jiménez (professor of Art History at the University of Zaragoza).

In addition to a study visit to the headquarters in Tobed, to Ricla (Castle project) and La Almunia de Doña Godina; they attended the presentation of Territorio Mudéjar “New partners” in Utebo where more than 60 people attended and the travelling exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the declaration of Mudejar architecture as World Heritage was inaugurated.

Students at the University of Experience learn about the Mudejar space

The 4th B students of the subject “Mudejar, emblem of Aragon” of the University of Experience have carried out several days of learning using the heritage space as a place of knowledge. Walking through the Mudejar space, discovering the light atmosphere and even being able to touch the Mudejar materials have turned the buildings, monuments and villages of Territorio Mudéjar into a textbook for active and innovative learning.

For several days 55 students visited the villages and monuments of Tobed, Cervera de la Cañada, Aniñón and Torralba de Ribota. The closing ceremony of the course took place on Tuesday 8th November in the Parroquieta de La Seo after visiting the Mudejar monastery of the Canonesas del Santo Sepulcro (Canons of the Holy Sepulchre).

Visit of Cultur Viajes, of the Santa María la Real Foundation

We love to host those who come to know and learn about the heritage of Territorio Mudéjar. A few days ago, we had the opportunity to share the visit of Cultur Viajes from the Santa María la Real Foundation: Route of the Arts in Aragon.

This trip was based on true cultural tourism: signature trips, sustainable and with attention to detail, a formula that coincides with our way of understanding tourism in heritage sites and spaces.

We visited Calatayud, Tobed and Daroca. The trip was supervised by María Heredia Mundet, director of Cultur Viajes, and was assisted by Victoria Trasobares, director of Territorio Mudéjar.

The trip, with 25 heritage travellers, has served to bring the two entities closer together and may be the seed for future projects.

Territorio Mudéjar presents its main projects and the touring exhibition in Utebo

The director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, presented the organisation this Wednesday in Utebo together with the mayoress of the town, Gema Gutiérrez. There she spoke about the lines of work, the projects, such as the routes, and explained what it means to be part of the Territorio Mudéjar network.

In addition, we were able to see the travelling exhibition “Mudéjar exhibition, the intelligence of beauty. 20th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage declaration”.

2nd Ibero-American Meeting on Travel, Communication and Tourism in Calatayud

More than 30 experts analysed the challenges facing the tourism sector in the wake of the pandemic over two days at the 2nd Ibero-American Meeting on Travel, Communication and Tourism: Historical Heritage, held in Calatayud.

The director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, took part in this event that seeks to reflect on three key concepts that have been impacted by the coronavirus: travel, tourism and communication.

These conferences are organised by the degree in Journalism of the Universidad San Jorge, the Master in Travel Journalism of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and Turismo de Aragón.

Journalists Rosa María Calaf and David Jiménez were in charge of opening the event and spoke about the differences between tourists and travellers at a table moderated by José Juan Verón, director of the Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism (USJ).

There was also time to enjoy the heritage of Calatayud: San Juan el Real, San Pedro de los Francos and the collegiate church of Santa María, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“It is important to evaluate the impact of actions to disseminate heritage. What you do at the heritage level must first be known by the people who live in the same place,” explained Victoria Trasobares.

Challenge 2022 practices evaluation meeting

How quickly the months go by. Without realising it, the students of the Desafío 2022 Programme have reached the final stretch of their internships. This week, the Territorio Mudéjar team and the network of collaborators and trainers had a meeting to evaluate the internships. A small spoiler: we are delighted with the result.

Thank you all for helping us to continue to build our network of professionals.