The General Director of Cultural Heritage of Aragón, Gloria Pérez, outlines the projects, challenges, and priorities for preserving and valuing the rich heritage legacy of Aragón. In this interview, she announces that this Thursday, October 23, “we are presenting to the Heritage Council in Rome the pre-dossier for the declaration of the Castle of Loarre as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its uniqueness,” while advocating for support to small municipalities for the recovery of churches, convents, and monasteries. “Heritage is not only protected – she asserts – but it also helps to stabilize the population in the territory.”
Passionate about every significant archaeological site, this researcher strongly defends the value of Aragonese heritage: “We have more than 500 castles, unique sites in Spain, and two or three hermitages in the majority of the 731 municipalities in Aragon. It is a tremendous value.”
How would you describe the current state of Aragonese heritage?
Aragonese cultural heritage is in good health. From the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports, we are very attentive to its conservation, maintenance, and, above all, to valuing it. It is a legacy that requires constant care, but also dissemination so that citizens know it and feel it is their own.
What were your initial expectations when you took office? What projects would you highlight?
Since the beginning of this legislature, we wanted to focus on archaeological sites. They are a first-order tourist and cultural resource, but also a way to better understand the cultures that preceded us. In Aragón, we have unique examples, such as the excavations at the Celtiberian site of Aratis in the Aranda region, where 9,000 artifacts were uncovered in the Hermel I and Hermel II excavations, alongside the Iberian sites in Lower Aragón or in the province of Zaragoza. We are also working intensively with the Fundación Dinópolis to promote the value of paleontological sites, which are unique in Spain. And, of course, the Monastery of Sijena, which has been and is an absolute priority. Its recovery and the exhibition of the goods returned from Lérida are fundamental milestones.
“This Thursday, October 23, we are presenting to the Heritage Council in Rome the pre-dossier for the declaration of the Castle of Loarre as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most ambitious ongoing projects”
She is the first general director that we hear discussing archaeological sites as a priority.
Yes, perhaps they had not been given the visibility they deserve. Sometimes we receive letters or visits from educational centers surprised by the condition of some places. It really saddens me when they tell me that the sites are in bad condition. We need to conserve them, carry out cleanings, set up interpretative tables so people know what they are seeing, and create routes. We have started to mark them, creating interpretative routes and promoting, for example, the “Celtiberia Route” alongside Castilla y León, a very promising interregional initiative.
What are the main challenges for preserving heritage in rural areas?
Thanks to the grants we have been able to offer from the General Directorate, many municipal entities have recovered churches, convents, and monasteries of local ownership. This not only protects heritage but also helps to stabilize the population in the territory.
What budget do you manage for these actions?
Very little, but the numbers are not the only important factor. We also need to seek funding from outside. Through the 2% cultural initiative, we are promoting extraordinary spaces such as the Palacio de los Arguillo (€600,000), the Count of Morata’s residence in Morata de Jalón, or the Círculo Católico de Huesca (€1 million), a reference archaeological site that allows us to traverse our history, turning pages from protohistory to contemporary history. With these active projects, along with others like El Torreón de Malena (€1 million), we are investing around five million euros, combining both internal and external funds.
With limited resources, how do you prioritize interventions?
The first priority is that all heritage under the Government of Aragón must be in optimal condition for visitation. Then we seek alliances and external funding: from ministries, foundations, and private entities with which we can collaborate. It is a constant management task where ideas and creativity are very much needed.
“The paintings from the Monastery of Sijena should never have left Aragón. They are paintings of universal value, of Aragonese ownership, and by judicial ruling, they must be here. Catalonia does not agree, but the artworks must come back to Aragón.”
How is the conservation of heritage balanced with its tourist use?
With balance and coordination. The duty regarding a cultural asset, both from the municipal authority and the Government of Aragón, is conservation. Conservation is a priority, but our assets also need to be made accessible to visitors. The General Directorate of Tourism enhances each tourist resource, such as guided tours to the monasteries of San Victorián and Sijena, the Castle of Loarre, Monastery of Rueda… Both general directorates work hand in hand and with very good coordination.
How do heritage and technology come together? Are there digital projects underway from the General Directorate?
We are immersed in a project of digitizing part of our heritage alongside Castilla y León and Galicia. We are three Spanish communities working on the digitalization of cultural heritage. It includes virtual reality and 3D models in spaces such as the Levantine Rock Art of the Río Vero, the Monastery of San Victorián, the Castle of Loarre, and the Roman Road system of Fraga…
In addition, we have installed smart sensors in the BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural) that monitor the condition of the monuments in real-time, detecting structural or climatic alterations, cracks, etc. Technology and innovation have advanced significantly in heritage conservation.
«…We are awaiting the judge’s decision on the return schedule. We will act firmly to ensure that the paintings arrive in good condition, and we will begin to restore them to the place where they always should have been.”
What heritage actions do you consider priorities in the coming years?
The Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre in Zaragoza is unique due to its singularity, and although it is not under our ownership, we need to give it a boost. There are several monasteries that also require immediate attention. We are negotiating public-private initiatives with some patrons interested in churches that house artistic treasures.
And we continue to invest in the Celtiberian site of Aratis, where I served as co-director of the excavations. It is a fascinating site: that is where one of the battles that changed the Roman calendar was fought, shifting the start of the year from March 15 to January 1. That history,
