A detailed report of the Innocastle study visit to Badajoz, Spain between 5th and 7th of November 2019, has been published with an in-depth analysis discussing themes such as public-private relations in heritage management, governmental support schemes for public and private owners, financial and fiscal schemes to support historic castles, manors and estates and marketing and visibility tools.

The report can be accessed here. It consists of:

  • Key takeaways from the site visits
  • Description of contents of the thematic seminar
  • Analysis and recommendations for the Operational Programme for Extremadura objective 6.3.1 -to boost protection, promotion and development of cultural heritage. 
  • Ideas from the stakeholders included in the participant questionnaire
  • Good practices identified so far



“I was thinking all the time, being a civil servant in a regional authority, what should be the relation with the private sector? For example, this is a Parador, state-owned and exploited in an [entrepreneurial] way. It’s completely unfamiliar for us. But these things make you think about what should be the right balance between state influence and entrepreneurship”. 

                    – Paul Thissen, Province of Gelderland, the Netherland

“Working together with private owners is often a good practice to protect the cultural heritage and to top up the tourism in the region. The example of the castle owner who works together with a caterer for organizing events in his castle showed that it can work”. 

                        – Siska Van de Steene, Flemish Land Agency, Belgium













Read more about the Learning Reports of the visits Romania, Wales and Gelderland.