The architectural legacy bequeathed by the Middle Ages constitutes one of the treasures of Catalan heritage. Applying an educational and experiential approach, the Border Castles Route encompasses several itineraries to discover the castles and fortresses of today’s Catalonia and their surrounding landscapes.

CHALLENGE

The Strategic Tourism Plan for Catalonia (2013-2016) sought to improve the integrated management of tourism and align its development with regional potential and planning, fostering sustainable competitiveness among the regions.

The Border Castles Route designed by MagmaCultura is part of this pioneering plan. The project therefore had to take the characteristics and peculiarities of the assigned area of development into account, that is, Catalonia’s inland area, its potential and resources, to contribute to enhancing its historical and architectural heritage, and to the region’s economic and social profitability through the development of cultural tourism.

GOALS

MagmaCultura, as the company specialising in cultural tourism responsible for designing the route, based its work on the following goals:

• To devise a plan for a series of itineraries through inland Catalonia with a narrative and logistical strategy capable of attracting tourists, contributing to seasonal adjustment and the diversification of traditional sun and beach destinations.
• To create high-quality routes that combine history with the various defining features of today’s territory.
• To showcase the surroundings of the castles and fortresses: their landscapes, materials, markets, festivities, etc., boosting visitor interest and enhancing intangible heritage that lends cohesion to the territory and defines its idiosyncrasy.
• To contribute to developing the locations with heritage assets, fostering each area’s tourism promotion and their natural and artisanal products.

TASK

Our work started out with documentation and research to gain more in-depth knowledge of the heritage assets that were to comprise the route, both from a historical and architectural perspective, with a view to identifying the pillars that would allow us to connect the heritage with the territory.

On the basis of all this information, we went on to:

• Identify the main points of interest.
• Design various territorial and theme-based, experiential and educational itineraries aimed at the dissemination of cultural heritage and the knowledge and interpretation of the world of castles in the framework of consolidating the Catalan territory during the Middle Ages.
• Conceptualise each cultural tourism product with quality parameters and convey the uniqueness of each of its components.

RESULTS

The uniqueness of the route’s heritage assets and their importance in Catalonia’s development over history make it a complementary and valuable resource for cultural tourism.

Furthermore, the interpretation and dissemination of the Border Castles Route contributes to restoring a significant share of Catalonia’s historical and geographical heritage.

KEY PROJECT FEATURES

• Integration of regional needs into the vision of cultural and tourism consultancy.
• Execution of projects to disseminate cultural and natural heritage.
• Design of strategies for the development of cultural audiences.