It is now time for MOMAr’s lead partner, the province of Zaragoza, to present its Action Plan. Thanks to the knowledge gained and the experiences shared in the MOMAr project, the Zaragoza Provincial Government could reflect on the management of the singular rural heritage in the province. Thus, this Action Plan is focused on salt heritage, and more precisely on the important salt industrial heritage of Remolinos.
The idea for this action arose following stakeholders meetings where the possibilities of using this heritage as a driver for local development were explored with the stakeholders of the University of Zaragoza and the City Council of Remolinos. Eventually, the city council decided to finance the first studies necessary for the implementation of this idea, carried out in collaboration with the Departments of Economics and History of Art of the University of Zaragoza.
Two studies to assess the project
To conduct these studies aiming to materialize this action, two contracts were created between the city council and the University of Zaragoza. The first one is called “Cataloging, Research and Enhancement of the salt heritage of Remolinos” and is focused on the identification of the possibilities of the heritage assets related to the salt mines, the village heritage and even the natural heritage. This study is also responsible for formulating some proposals on the model of management that will fit better for the mines.
The second contract is called “Business plan and viability of industrial heritage in Remolinos” and presents a study about other Spanish European examples of management of salt mines as a heritage asset, and also estimates the cost of implementing different models of management for the Remolinos salt mines.
The main objective of the enhancement of the exceptional industrial salt heritage of Remolinos is to develop the village, promote its knowledge and the sense of belonging of the local population, and use it as a catalyst to promote other assets of the town.
The importance of MOMAr
In order to achieve these goals, and due to the learning of MOMAr, the annual budget of the Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza will have a specific financing line devoted to the “Organization and management of strategic plans for Heritage Management”. This ensures the durability of the lessons learned, allowing future initiatives concerning the management of the singular rural heritage to find a specific line of financing.
In the framework of the publication of the Action Plan of the province of Zaragoza, Lorena Laga, Head of Section of the Zaragoza Provincial Government, and Isabel Soria, Culture Technician of the Zaragoza Provincial Government, state: “Thanks to MOMAr, the Culture Area of the Zaragoza Provincial Government has realized that it is necessary to structure specific financing to support the strategic management plans for heritage management, which must have their own line apart from those of conservation and restoration of heritage or initiative merely related to tourism. This change has materialized during this year, and we hope that with its maintenance over time, more and more heritage sites in the province will opt for reasoned planning of their management, which will allow their continuity over time and generate opportunities for development in the rural area”.
