After a few months of frenetic summer activity, Spain’s World Heritage Cities have prepared a very special final fireworks display to say goodbye to summer in style: Heritage Night, Heritage Night, A Heritage Night. A unique experience to live and enjoy art, culture and tradition under the starry sky of 15 places of particular beauty.
The President of the Group of Heritage Cities and Mayor of Santiago de Compostela, Goretti Sanmartín, invites you to enjoy “the largest cultural event celebrated simultaneously in the 15 World Heritage Cities and which constitutes the best representation of the uniqueness of our monuments, our art and our traditions, while projecting this diversity and the richness of this cultural heritage throughout the world.
Following the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Group of Spanish World Heritage Cities (GCPHE), the seventh edition of Heritage eveningan event that will transform the historic centers of Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Baeza, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Eivissa, Mérida, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Úbeda for an entire period . night .
So that nothing is missing, Heritage evening It will be divided into three large blocks: Living heritage, open heritage And Heritage scene. And to make this possible, hundreds of historic spaces such as cathedrals, palaces, museums or archaeological sites will open at extraordinary times, while a multitude of guided tours and open-air shows will complete a unique and free cultural offer where dance will also be in the spotlight. present.
Living heritage: culture on every street corner
Living heritage It is that part of the night when the streets of these cities fill with life. Imagine, for example, being in Alcalá de Henares and enjoying the concerts of the 26th International Plectrum Festival, or visiting Ávila and losing yourself among the winning photographs of the Medieval Days, which will transport you to another era.
In Baeza, chef Juan Carlos García, from the starred restaurant Vandelvira, will hold a demonstration kitchen traditional dishes, while in Cáceres young talents will fill the night with music and dancing with Cáceres and Rhythm.
Cordoba will focus on theatrical entertainment Julio Romero’s Dream and Cuenca for paper crafts and wooden toys workshops. In Eivissa there will be heritage visits to Dalt Vila and in Mérida the play All the Midday Light will take theatre to the street.
In Salamanca, the fireworks show Salamanca: Art, Knowledge and Fires will fill the sky with colour, while San Cristóbal de La Laguna will host a Silbo Gomero workshop. Santiago de Compostela will offer guided walks through emblematic spaces and craft workshops, while Segovia will be illuminated with candles in the garden and patio of the Antonio Machado House-Museum, creating a magical atmosphere.
The visit continues in Tarragona, with the immersive experience of mapping Tarraco, and in Toledo, a concert at the Cristo de la Luz Mosque will set the musical tone. Úbeda was not going to be less and will offer an oil tasting and flamenco at the Interpretation Center Olive grove and oil.
Open Heritage: Monuments in the Moonlight
It is the ideal opportunity to discover and visit many emblematic monuments accompanied by the coolness of the night.
The wall of Ávila awaits you carefully illuminated, while in Alcalá de Henares the museum of the birthplace of Cervantes will open its doors and offer you a journey into the past. Baeza will do the same with the Cerro del Alcázar and Cáreces with the Helga de Alvear Museum of Contemporary Art. In Córdoba, the archaeological complex Madinat al-Zahra will open its doors and in Cuenca, the famous hanging houses will surprise you from a different point of view.
The National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida awaits you with its archaeological gems, while in Iivissa the Museum of Contemporary Art is the chosen space. In Salamanca, the towers of the cathedral will allow you to see the city illuminated and in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the Hermitage of Santo Domingo de Guzmán will open its doors at night.
Santiago de Compostela has prepared Hidden Compostela as part of Invisible Heritage Week, while Segovia will open the Jewish Quarter Educational Center, Tarragona the Praetorium and the Roman Circus, Toledo the Synagogue of the Tránsito and Úbeda the Sacred Chapel of the Savior.
Heritage Scene: contemporary dance in unique settings
If you like art in motion, the Escena Heritage Festival will simultaneously exhibit the 15 pieces of the guest choreographers of this edition, under the direction of the Group’s Culture Commission, chaired by the mayor of Tarragona, Rubén Viñuales, and with the artistic coordination of Lorenzo Pappagallo.
At the Corral de Alcalá de Henares, the show will be directed by Richard Mascherin, while at the Mur de Ávila, the sensory journey will be provided by SóLODOS Danza. The ruins of San Francisco in Baeza will be the setting for the Mal Pelo Company, in Cáceres the space will be reserved for Aurora Bauzà and Pere Jou, while in Córdoba, Yinka Esi Graves and Poliana Lima will be in the Sala del Palacio de Orive.
Roberto Olivan will occupy the Plaza Torre Mangana in Cuenca, in Iivissa the Cloister of the City Hall will be for Joaquín Collado and in Mérida the Temple of Diana will be the ideal setting for the dance of Mario Bermúdez and Catherine Coury. In Salamanca, for its part, Taiat Dansa will fill the church of Los Dominicos with energy.
Kukai Dantza, along with Rogelio Botanz and local folk groups, will present his show in the Plaza de Santo Domingo in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Israel Galván will bring his art to A machine house in Santiago de Compostela. Adrián Vega and Adriano Galante will present their proposal in the prison of Segovia. Mariona Jaume and Maya Triay will perform in the Parc del Miracle in Tarragona. The Sara Cano Dance Company will perform in the Patio of the University of Toledo. And in Úbeda, it will be Juan Berlanga who will delight the public in the Plaza Vázquez de Molina.
Heritage Night is made possible thanks to funding provided by the Ministry of Culture.
