ProMonumenta's main aim and goal is cleaning and preserving monuments in a special state of ruin.
The philanthropic association Promonumenta (Friends of the Cultural Heritage of Leon) has been providing protection and preservation for years to many important historical sites, ruined and abandoned cultural heritage buildings (small and apparently non-important monuments) throughout the whole province of Leon, in the northwestern part of Spain. It’s located in Leon city, in a historical building. Its members share partnership with more than five hundred people all over Spain and abroad.
Cross-border/international
Spain
Portugal
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Our association is working with the Community of Castilla y León, the Provincial Council and most of the municipalities of the region, Leon city included. Also we are having collaborations with Galicia and abroad in Portugal: Guarda, Figueira de Castello Rodrigo and Pinhel. Occasionally we have cooperation with USA (students from Princeton University).
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-12-31
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): ProMonumenta 'Friends of the Cultural Heritage of Leon' Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: MARCELINO Last name of representative: FERNANDEZ Gender: Male Nationality: Spain Function: PRESIDENT Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: PASEO DEL PARQUE, 3 Town: LEON Postal code: 24005 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34 699 36 81 70 E-mail:promonumenta.asociacion@gmail.com Website:https://promonumenta.com
The activities carried out by ProMonumenta association conciliate great public interest. They are an important contribution to the defence, knowledge, conservation and dissemination of our cultural heritage, although preferably found in the lands of León, they are declared elements of Cultural Interest, even those other more modest ones full of ethnographic interest, or immaterial typology. The aim of ProMonumenta is to emphasize the important social role of cultural heritage everywhere and its deficiencies through public denunciation, showing up its low degree of conservation, promotion and appreciation. These issues, which suffer from an adequate care in many cases, are very necessary in our province, in Spain and in Europe. Its important work is, by far, inserted in the whole Spanish territories, in which our democratic culture arouses a social conscience that becomes increasingly active, critical and committed to its both material and immaterial heritage, typical of our history. Its activities are informative, pedagogical and call attention to the conscience of citizens and public administrations. These, on many occasions, take into account their opinions, which are very valid in terms of heritage management in their area of competence. ProMonumenta is the only association in Spain that organizes ‘hacenderas’ (‘common field work’ devoted to clearances) to clean monuments in a programmed, organized and permanent way, with more than 30 years of achievements in this specific fact. To be honest, this ‘field work’ proves to have an important impact due to our social links and human contact with the people in many villages throughout Leon province, which are almost abandoned in their emptied land. Our activities exalt and dignify them all.
Another important aspect to mention is that of getting and placing specialists and researchers from different subjects together, in order to be in contact with a diversity of uneducated citizens who live in villages.
Our focus is the defence, knowledge, conservation and dissemination of our cultural heritage.
We emphasize the important social role of enhancing cultural heritage.
Our basic sign of identity is ‘hacenderas’ (‘common field work’ devoted to clearances) to clean monuments in a programmed, organized and permanent way.
We get and place together specialists and researchers from different subjects according to specific tasks.
We promote and join citizen platforms in the defence of endangered heritage monuments including public denunciations and demonstrations (protests).
Our main aims and commitments are:
-Give support to local mayors and political cultural staff in small councils and village halls which need our contribution and help on the clearances and preservation of their monuments (‘hacenderas’).
-Carry out direct periodical actions on abandoned monuments (clearances and maintenance through 'field work' with members of our association)
-Help protect unique popular architecture, also called ‘industrial heritage’, so to mention: Pozo Ibarra (coal mine), the MSP thermal power plant in Villablino or the railway station in Palacios del Sil (Bierzo-León) and the Paleontological site of the former mining of coal (Mina Boisán) .
-Catalogue all monuments in Leon province in danger of disappearance, including also those which are or have recently been restored.
-Go through a red list of possible heritage monuments on the way to disappear.
-Implement plans, programmes and various strategies focused on the sustainability of local heritage buildings.
-Publish a periodical annual magazine with articles based on monuments and actions of special relevance.
-Organise talks and lectures on cultural heritage both Spain and abroad (Portugal & USA, Princeton University).
All along our project we have achieved these key targets:
-202 ‘Field works’ (called 'hacenderas'), not only in the province of León but also in Galicia (northwestern region of Spain) and Portugal.
-35 Lectures and Talks in different areas (Leon)
-55 Cultural Trips, most of them in the province of Leon, neighbouring provinces, Madrid and Portugal as well as different editions of exhibitions called ‘Edades del Hombre’ (‘Ages of Man’)
-33 Cultural Street Walks with groups of citizens showing up and illustrating both the sites and their history. Also visit the different restorations stages on monuments in Leon city.
-25 Introductions to audiences of our 17 magazines published up to date, in Leon, Madrid, Ponferrada and Astorga.
-1 book also published by ProMonumenta: ‘The Monastery of Sandoval: 150 years of abandonment’.
These facts prove to be exemplary not only in the context of improving our Cultural Heritage but also among our members who are always excited (always plenty of positive emotions) and also committed -in a great number of people, to be honest- to get involved in 'field works'. So, it really means a top experience for both our members and rural people who feel themselves supported by an association located in the city. We also focus our objectives on the cultural benefits of giving interest and reviving the value of even the smallest forgotten monuments in the middle of the fields. An example of this is the recently-opened 'Route of the Romanesque Altarpieces' promoted by ProMonumenta and other local associations. The main idea is to attract citizens and tourists to an almost forgotten area of small parish churches with splendid altarpieces, which had previously been restored (their appearance as pieces of art has been improved a lot) . And contribute to enhance some jobs to be sustainable in the area: small rural hostels, artisans, farmers, etc. These are the cultural benefits of giving importance to their rural way of life.
In ProMonumenta we habitually collaborate and organize labour journeys through rural and village councils including rural associations of different types (cultural, musical, gastronomic, sport, students, pilgrims, etc.), including those from abroad (Portuguese, mainly) we share our languages with, too.
The benefits for the citizens are incredibly great: from the very moment we start clearances with people from different local areas, restoration with specialists and experts to collaboration with mayors and staff from far rural areas, we immediately increase the value of the small monument, the road, the fountain, a bridge or whatever cultural item it is. Once it has been restored and people from other parts of the region (tourists included) come to visit it, we feel a grateful sense of belonging. To be honest, this aspect really contributes to join many areas and rural places so to bring them together when they need some help from each other.
Tourism is other valuable aspect for the civil society because once the monuments start to be showed up and get involved in routes, all citizens take benefit of it: restaurants, small rural hostels, etc. Many rural mayors got down to work once they felt supported by our association Promonumenta and they got provincial money to restore their affected monuments. It has happened to some medieval palaces and castles in Leon which originally were practically abandoned, nowadays they are a relevant source of income for rural village councils (e.g. Renaissance palace in the village of Grajal de Campos-León, now is been visited annually by hundreds of people and tourists; a castle in Balboa, now a recreational area...) so to mention some of the benefits of restoration given to citizens.
The awareness among the people of the villages affected by almost abandoned monuments (and mostly their mayors and leaders) that there is an association called ProMonumenta that will altruistically support them and will also try to help recover and do clearances on places and historical monuments is one of our sign of identity and satisfaction. Then people realize that what we do in their villages will benefit them in the short and long term: the aspects of their monuments improve, the access to new channels of tourism, business in hostels, including bars and restaurants in the area enhances. We try to convince them that all these actions are of enormous importance for cultural heritage and preservation.
Civil society (people in general, residents, farmers, tenants, village mayors and local organizations) is the the final beneficiary of our actions, verifying how their collaboration with ProMonumenta always sums up and creates a great impact on their areas. These results and improvements can be found out in all senses, from a better appearance of monuments restored to local economic benefits.
We have already mentioned that our contacts and partnership with institutions -both local and regional- has implemented greatly the concern, support and subsidies for assets of cultural interest, whether small or large (such as the walls of Mansilla or the walls in the city of Leon).
In fact, nowadays there are members of our association ProMonumenta who are leading protagonism in local, national and international politics. Thanks to them we can reach agreements, sign petitions or even grants for other cultural entities, experts in restoration, and also small town halls.
Some archaeologists, who contributed enormously to the value of the Astur-Roman area of Lancia (17 km. far from Leon city) and originally one of the most relevant cultural sites in León (the primitive Roman settlement of Legio VI and Legio VII) are members of ProMonumenta. One of them was some years ago the Manager of the Leonese Institute of Culture. Iban del Blanco, now a Deputy in the European Assembly collaborated with ProMonumenta in the past. So to mention some people or politicians who care about and also take our opinions into account -as an association- when dealing with grants and appreciate our serious advice when planning objectives for the Councils.
In most of the cases their engagement with ProMonumenta is well appreciated by general citizens in all spheres of influence and common work.
Our magazine 'ProMonumenta' is a relevant loudspeaker and even an echo in the Leonese society, authorities included, which admire and praise our disinterested work for the benefit of the monumental culture of the province, too.
Our so many expert members in Culture, Art, Architecture, Engineers, Archaeologists, Management, IT, Machinery Specialists, Academics and University professors but also Miners, Technicians, Carpenters, Plumbers, etc have a lot to say in most of the actions performed by and for ProMonumenta, not only in giving their vision and their disinterested collaboration, but in advising. Our association has more than 500 members from all levels of civil society, with great technical preparation that we always collect and take into account.
We are going to indicate by way of example those disciplines and fields of knowledge that most affect the design and execution of our activities:
1. FIELD WORKS (planned by the management team and taking into account archeologists and historians as well as miners and machinery experts, carpenters, farmers and all types of non-expert volunteers.). Rural mayors sometimes need some pieces of advice in management and organization in common labor work.
2. CULTURAL TRIPS AND ROUTES (guides, cultural strategists and curators, as well as managers in tourism and art who are members of our association)
3. LECTURES and TALKS (writers, university professors, experts in museums, depending on the knowledge field to talk about)
4. CULTURAL STREET WALKS (professors and guides as well as architects or cultural managers)
5. BOOK PRESENTATIONS (Cultural strategists and writers)
6. OUR MAGAZINE (specialists and expert writers: The magazine contains a minimum of 150-160 pages of cultural dissemination, essays, and various articles of deeper investigation . e.g. Last magazine 'ProMonumenta XVII', September 2022, contains 26 articles written by 21 different persons.
The interaction among all specialists depends on the type of activity to do. Normally the design at all levels depends on the management team who usually asks or goes to the appropriate person or expert, depending on the 'qualities' needed. Interaction is always compulsory among us.
RESULTS: Cultural and artistic, social and interactive (social support), political (mayors and institutions) to obtain subsidies, restorations, tourist and cultural routes, avoid looting, citizen awareness, strengthening and rooting of the population in a rural Spain that is increasingly neglected, fighting against depopulation. Opening of businesses and sources of work (hostels, bars, restaurants...) under the lee of new production models based on the rural renovation of monuments.
IMPACT: Environmental and well-being by and for nature (cleaning and drainage of river beds, bridges, fountains...) Recently the 'Route through the Plateresque Altarpieces' has had a National Tourism Award on January 17, 2023 by the 'Visión' Agency and the 'International Association of Journalists' for its impact on the life of the population of the eastern part of León. This Route, which runs through the Eastern León: Vallecillo, Gordaliza del Pino, Sahagún, Joara, Celada de Cea, Valdescapa de Cea, Valdavida, Villaselán, Cistierna and Yugueros (León), received the National Tourism Award, "for its novelty as a sacred route for the dissemination of history and heritage next to the Camino de Santiago, which creates opportunities for tourism in the area and helps fight against depopulation." The award, consisting of a statuette of the pilgrim-tourist. "You have to promote everything that helps improve tourism and you have to protect more and more against depopulation," says the journalist Tomás Rodríguez Arteaga, a native of Fresno de la Vega (León). The Plateresque Route is located in a privileged showcase before the journalists and tourism managers from all over the Spanish-Ibero-American geography that will attend Fitur in January 2023. A real impact promoted by ProMonumenta.
OUTCOMES: Emotional achievements for local citizens, more article-readers, an increase in knowledge (lectures and talks), and at a religious level (restoration of altars and cloisters).
As already mentioned before, the most INNOVATIVE CHARACTER of our global project is to give importance to 'FIELD WORK' on most of the abandoned monuments. It is, without doubt, our seal of identity.
Most innovative aspects of the ProMonumenta association:
1. Participation of our members in a TV programme ('Volando voy'- Channel 4) directed by Jesús Calleja at the same time that we were working on clearances on some Roman water channels in the area of Las Médulas, in the Oza Valley-León, in June 2021.
2. Archaeological workshop on the Mining Waterways left by Roman engineers, in Llamas de Cabrera (León), from 1996 to July 2015, so that our members could become familiar with the recovery and maintenance processes.
3. Recovery of the Processional Cross (16th century), made in the workshop of the goldsmith Juan de Ferreras in León, which disappeared in the 1970s and was auctioned in the Durán gallery in Madrid. Thanks to our insistence and prompt urgent action, it was recovered by the Junta de Castilla y León. Today it can be visited in the León Museum.
4. Actions in the Castles of Sarracín (Vega de Valcarce) and Balboa (Bierzo), which were in a state of imminent ruin. Today, thanks to our ‘field works’ and demands, they are almost restored and can be visited.
5. Complete actions since 1994, on the ruins of the Monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza, today restored.
There are three other aspects that should be highlighted considering the local community (points of view):
1. Interaction with cultural authorities (eg, Leonés Institute of Culture), representatives (eg, Hispania Nostra delegate), specialists from our Provincial Council (e.g, Secot) and universities (e.g, University of León-Professor César García, visiting monuments and historical buildings).
2. In the national context collaborations with other associations (e.g. 'Camino de Santiago').
3. In the international context, collaboration and participation with Portuguese associations in programmed courses.
Our methodology is absolutely based on the experience gained through these 30 years but required some changes we made:
a. Originally plans were mainly focused on 'FIELD WORK' on the most abandoned monuments or rural cultural sites, involving volunteers' labour on clearances. Members travelled there on their own cars, using their personal tools. Today all plans are basically reviewed and checked by experts (archaeologists, professors, etc.) Members and volunteers travel on buses and use tools bought by ProMonumenta.
b. Qualified members of our association are in charge of suggesting monuments and sites which are in danger and need urgent actions.
c. Assemblies of members propose nowadays specific actions to be carried out.
OTHER APPROACHES to GAIN CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION AMONG MEMBERS:
1. Working with all members of this association is MOTIVATIONAL due to their contribution, effort, diligence, unconditional and altruistic support for all the causes undertaken.
2. The collaboration with other associations and entities, both public and private (for example, we are reciprocal members of the association 'Friends of the Camino de Santiago' -'Pulchra Leonina'- in León) has provided us with help and GRATIFYING ACTIVITIES.
3. Making the locals and countrymen on the areas where we work SEE that the monuments we are going to clean are not 'just a bunch of old stones' but rather ‘historical stones’ with enormous content and cultural value, which can HELP THEM REVITALIZE their area or their basin.
4. ProMonumenta is an association that has always promoted the appreciation of the 'Forgotten Path', together with the 'Cuatro Valles' association -a local action entity-, getting the LINK OF ALL MUNICIPALITIES through which its itinerary passes by. It means having a huge economic impact on villages.
5. ProMonumenta and the 'Balle de Scapa' association have launched the 'Route of the Renaissance Altarpieces' in Eastern León, bringing together all the Councils of 10 villages.
Mostly 'FIELD WORK' as a basic tool to help recover unique monuments or buildings abandoned due to a lack of interest.
In our case, the focus is by far on the context of RURAL AREAS and VILLAGES. They need our support not only for the VALUE OF the buildings (MONUMENTS) themselves but also FOR THE SURVIVAL OF OUR ELDERLY PEOPLE (from the motivational point of view: personal accompaniment and assistance) and a POSITIVE PUSH TO THE ECONOMY OF RURAL VILLAGES.
Nowadays we are realizing that building or setting bridges between cities and villages is an incomparable weapon to improve the opportunities of people at all levels (personal, cultural and economic). e.g. Our 'Route of the Renaissance Altarpieces' in Eastern León' through 10 small villages has given plenty of other options to dozens of both young and elderly people. Obviously it is an input and a personal philanthropic contribution.
These changes on processes of welfare and social awareness are always necessary to be made in RURAL AREAS, and that was our personal reflection (among the members of our association ProMonumenta at least).
Working in these disadvantaged areas does not just mean a mere learning, it is a frank solution (in all cases it reverts more benefits to us as volunteers, but also to our global society).
As for PROCESSES, the genuine change in parish churches (most of them were, some years ago, in a situation of abandonment) after restoring their roofs, floors and altarpieces we have given them -also with enough support from other associations and institutions- a second opportunity.
Nowadays we are involved in TEACHING our new generations (VISITS TO HIGH SCHOOLS prove to be pretty efficient) that keeping our heritage safe is a common task for all types of people and, as a result of it, for all of us. ProMonumenta Junior must be our next step in the PROCESS of RENOVATION and PUBLIC AWARENESS. Most of the learning happens when you put into practice what you know and what you see others do.
We have been detailing many of them throughout this application, but perhaps the most significant global challenges have to do with personal decisions and pushes as a GROUP.
All attempts to improve collective work must be polarized and thus achieve personal satisfaction. Otherwise the SOCIAL scaffolding collapses.
The key challenge lies in CONTINUITY, in the HARMONIOUS WORK of groups of people involved and in SENSITIVITY towards the most depopulated areas. In our case, there cannot be a single goal such as protecting and safeguarding the closest heritage without taking into account those villages that are almost delocalized on the map of our territories and regions. In a global world WE MUST PROTECT THE LOCAL if we do not want to lose the soil. We must take on the challenge of protecting what 'almost does not matter', even how insignificant or minuscule it may be, and give it relevance: a small church, in which almost only one wall remains, on the side of a mountain; a small medieval bridge almost demolished in an unimportant spot; an overgrown Franciscan tower from 1725 at the edge of a road; the forge or the old water mill that no longer has a history, etc.
The greatest global challenge is what we give importance to in the nearby, so that it attracts the people of our globalized world to it. We would like you to see what can be done in an abandoned tower when 35 people work for hours clearing and removing weed, placing fallen stones or climbing upon a bell tower to clean up pigeon droppings. That is a global challenge: to keep what is ours in the minuscule to hold the general.
GLOBAL CHALLENGES:
1. We give importance to incorporate young people from both our city and the countryside in our projects to safeguard the most faded cultural heritage. This would lead to a collective or group awareness towards what is ours or affects us more closely. All through contact with field activities.
2. Invest in young groups to let them sum up and vindicate our monuments.
