Intramuros bags Spain’s Heritage Award

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine institution is this year’s recipient of the Heritage Award by the Association of Heritage Cities of Spain.

In a statement, the award body said it conferred the honor on the Intramuros Administration for undertaking efforts in recovering Philippine cultural heritage.

The Intramuros Administration, founded in 1973, is an attached agency of the Department of Tourism aimed at the restoration and promotion of the walled city of Intramuros as a tourist destination.

Its projects are implemented through the Escuella Taller de Intramuros, an initiative of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

According to its website, mayors of 15 heritage cities in Spain met in an assembly on July 18 at Tarragona, where they resolved to grant the “premio Patrimonio de la Humanidad” award to the Intramuros Administration.

“The Heritage Award bestows honor on projects aspiring to conserve, restore, promote and disseminate Spanish historical and cultural heritage, taking into consideration the quality of such projects, their execution and adaptation to urban context as well as their role in restoring the social activities in the entire historical area, becoming models for such other places, particularly those listed as World Heritage Sites,” the group said.

Awarding ceremonies will be held late October in Avila, as the host city celebrates the fifth centenary of the birth of Saint Teresa, known as a “doctor of the church.”

The Association of Heritage Cities of Spain, established in 1993, is composed of municipalities with World Heritage designations by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Members include the cities of Alcalá de Henares, Avila, Baeza, Cáceres, Cordoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Merida, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Úbeda. Cherry Salazar