The President of the Cortes of Aragon, Marta Fernandez (Vox), and its cultural commitment with initiatives such as the Manor Festival either In a place in… Aragon They have been an absolute success. The figures support this. This summer, between July and August, the number of visitors to the imposing Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza exceeded 61,000 people.
That is to say a total of 21.7% more people than in 2022when the left managed to attract 50.154 visitors. Similarly, last year a qualitative leap was achieved (counting June), reaching the 74,289 visitors. A figure which in turn has increased by 11% this summer, reaching 87,502.
In just one year at the head of the Parliament of the Cortes of Aragon, since she was elected by a majority to the Cortes in June 2023, with the support of PP and Vox, the commitment to culture of Marta Fernandez is indisputable. During its first year in office, the presidency of Vox promoted a unique festival in northern Spain. We refer to the Manor Festival of music and dance, imagined by Sergio CastilloDirector General of the Cortes of Aragon.
An event comparable only to the major events it offers Seville and Granada in terms of spaces so unique due to their historical importance, that they have managed to place the Aljafería in the circuit of great summer cultural events.
Marta Fernández and Aragonese culture
“The increase in the number of visitors during this summer thus reinforces the attractiveness of the Aljafería Palace, as one of the main monuments of Aragon, both for its historical value and for consolidating itself as a cultural space with an increasingly greater offer, in this case, musical and pictorial”, they emphasize from the presidency. It must be taken into account that Aljafería is the second monument the most visited in the community, behind the Basilica of Pilar.
In this sense, the president’s ambition is to “put it on the international map” and make “those who come to Spain want to visit it.” In this facet of “cultural patron of Aragonese art“, several ambitious projects are on his horizon, as he explains to OKDIARIO.
One of them, for example, is linked to the Aragonese kings, in order to highlight the history of Aragon at a national level. “The promotion of culture and betting on one’s own assets“With the unique character of the Aljafería Palace and the works it houses, are priority objectives of my presidency,” he added.
On the other hand, after Marta Fernández came to power, her office carried out works to reorganize and improve the management, maintenance and gardening of the building. In addition, there was a boost visitsby expanding group rates, as well as free rates for large families, among others.
Manlor Festival, exhibitions
In addition to the first edition of the aforementioned MANLOR Music and Dance Festival, the Trayectos Festival was held as part of the Conversations in the Aljafería cycle. All those who visited the monumental area were able to admire the life-size replica of the work in the Patio de San Martín. Fight between Saint George and the Dragonby Rubens, as part of the cultural project In a place in… Aragondeveloped by the Prado Museum and Telefónica, in collaboration with the Territorio Goya Cultural Association.
In this sense, the president drew up a positive assessment of this increase in the number of visitors to one of the most visited monuments in Aragon, World Heritagewhich will host in the coming months the major monographic exhibition on the universal Aragonese painter Goya, from the Museum to the Palace, which will last several months with works loaned by the Goya Museum as well as other collections.
Vox indicated, in this sense, that “the house of the Aragonese, which is La Aljafería, takes on its full meaning with this wonderful welcome as a point of interest for people from our community, from Spain and other countries. “Everyone is welcome.”
National and international tourism
Of the three months, August was the busiest, with a total of 36,012 visitorsfollowed by June with 26,459 and July with 25,031. As for the origin, national tourism was predominant with a total of 51,193 visitors against a total of 36,309 of other countries.
More than 87 thousand thanks! 👏
During this summer, more than 87,000 people visited the Palace to immerse themselves in its history, enjoy music and dance or see pictorial projects never seen before in Aragon.
– Aljafería Palace (@laaljaferia) September 5, 2024
By communities, Aragon tops the list of domestic visitors, with 22.64%, followed by Catalonia (8.13%), Madrid (5.43%), Valencian Community (4.76%) and Andalusia (4.21%). Regarding international visitors, France tops the list with 12.61%, followed by Italy (6.61%), South America (4.04%), other countries of the European Union (2.91%) and USA (2.58%).
