The Zaragoza Provincial Council has taken a significant step in exploring new uses for religious heritage by participating in the European project RELIHE. This program brings together seven countries to analyze how to repurpose religious heritage in rural areas, promoting innovative cultural and social uses.
International Collaboration to Revitalize Heritage
The Aragonese delegation, composed of the Culture Deputy Charo Lázaro, the Citizenship Area Director Esperanza García, the Head of Service Mª Carmen Gracia, and the Managing Director of Mudéjar Territory Victoria Trasobares, joined partners from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Italy, and the Netherlands on a study visit to the South Bohemia region in the Czech Republic. This international exchange seeks to share experiences and strategies to revitalize religious heritage, a resource that is underutilized in many regions of Europe.
During the visit, participants explored five significant spaces, each with a successful reuse model. Among them, the Premonstratensian Monastery of Milevsko, one of the most important Romanesque ensembles in Bohemia, and the Cistercian Monastery of Zlatá Koruna, recognized as one of the most valuable Gothic complexes in Central Europe, stand out.
RELIHE: Innovation and Sustainability in Religious Heritage
The RELIHE project, coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Turin, has a budget of over 1.5 million euros co-financed by the European Union and has a duration of four years. Its aim is to rethink the role of religious heritage in rural areas as a driver of sustainable development, social cohesion, and cultural innovation. This approach responds to secularization and demographic changes that have left many convents, monasteries, and churches underutilized throughout Europe.
The project not only seeks to preserve these spaces but also to integrate them into community life through cultural and social activities. Examples of this include the Church of San Lorenzo in Klení, which now hosts concerts and cultural gatherings, and the Monastic Complex of Český Krumlov, restored to house exhibitions and workshops.
Impact in the Province of Zaragoza
Participation in RELIHE allows the Zaragoza Provincial Council to analyze management, financing, and community participation models that could be applied in its territory. In the province, religious heritage is a key element of the cultural landscape and the identity of rural municipalities. This international experience complements the work that the institution has developed for decades in the conservation of provincial religious heritage, continually seeking new ways to integrate it into contemporary life and ensure its future sustainability.
