The Tarraco Heritage Management Consortium is created, with planned investments of 39.7 million euros.

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Culture, the Generalitat (Catalan Government), and Tarragona City Council will invest €39.7 million in the city's Roman heritage through the Tarragona Heritage Management Consortium, established this Wednesday at the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona. The event was attended by the President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Salvador Illa; the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun; the Mayor of the city, Rubén Viñuales; and the Regional Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández. The consortium entities are the Generalitat (Catalan Government), the City Council, and the Catalan Cultural Heritage Agency. The ministry, the Provincial Council, and the archbishopric may also participate, initially participating through agreements. "This consortium is a good example that collaboration between administrations is the only way forward," said Salvador Illa.

This is the first time that a group has been created to unite and coordinate all the institutions linked to Tarragona's Roman heritage. The Consortium will assume management of the monuments, archaeological sites, and historical and cultural spaces of the archaeological complex, including the Roman Amphitheater, the Roman Forum, the Roman Circus, and the Roman Theater, as well as the Roman walls and quarry of El Mèdol.

After Wednesday's event, the Consortium's statutes and financial viability plan will have to be approved, and then the agreement will have to be drafted before the end of the year. Until now, Tarragona's Roman heritage was governed by a maintenance and conservation agreement between Tarragona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government), agreed in 2019. The Consortium will be chaired by the Generalitat (Catalan Government), specifically by President Illa, and the executive committee will be headed by Mayor Viñuales. The Roman heritage of Tarraco has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2000.

Coordinated management of World Heritage

A quarter of the resources, around 12 million, come from European funds, as explained by Illa. The objectives of the new consortium also include "optimizing resources and being more efficient and effective," as well as working on "a comprehensive vision of World Heritage" so that the narrative and operation are aligned among all participating administrations. They also want to delve deeper into "the protection, restoration, management, and projection of the legacy," so that it becomes an "international reference."

Regarding financial contributions, the Ministry of Culture will invest 19.3 million, the Generalitat 10.8, and the City Council 10.1. More specifically, the ministry will invest 8.5 million (4.4 million for civil works, 3.7 for museography, and 0.4 for restoration) in the museum project of theNational Archaeological Museum of Tarraco, which has been closed since 2018, and in which the Generalitat will also invest 1.28 million euros. It is scheduled to open in late 2026. In the case of the Roman Theatre, the Generalitat will allocate 2 million euros to guarantee the protection and musealization of the archaeological remains, expand the visitor area, and create a headquarters for the immersive project.The eyes of history. The works are expected to be completed during the first months of 2027.

In the Necropolis of Tarraco, where work is already underway, the ministry has invested 8.9 million, and for the pending actions (restorations, new museography and the work on the site of the Tabacalera2 more), the Generalitat1, the Generalitat1, the Generalitat1, the Generalitat1, the Generalitat1, the Generalitat1, the Generalitat 1 and the work on the site of the Tabacalera2. In addition to this investment, 20 million euros are being invested by the Ministry of Culture in the new headquarters of the State Public Library in Tarragona, which will also be located in the Tabacalera complex.

Tarragona City Council plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition with a program of events that will include professional workshops. It will do so in conjunction with the municipalities of Constantí and Altafulla, which have important heritage sites, such as the Villa de los Munts (Altafulla) and the Centelles Mausoleum (Constantí), but which are not part of the Consortium.