TALAVERA DE LA REINA AND PUENTE DEL ARZOBISPO, INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

IN DECEMBER 2023 THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF TALAVERA DE LA REINA AND PUENTE DEL ARCHOBISPO AS INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY WILL BE COMPLETED

The inscription of the artisanal ceramic techniques of these two Toledo towns on the UNESCO Representative List as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, celebrates its fourth anniversary in December recovering the pride of a tradition that has not only managed to overcome national borders and reach Mexico, but has been able to remain unchanged for centuries, passing on all knowledge, practices, expressions and knowledge, from generation to generation to the present day.

Cultural Heritage is a very broad term that does not refer only to material aspects, which due to their characteristics are unique or outstanding. In recent decades and more specifically since 2003, its expression has changed, among other things, due to the instruments developed by UNESCO and the creation of a Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In Talavera de la Reina and El Puente del Arzobispo, two towns very close to each other and with many centuries of artisan tradition, we observe how the techniques linked to ceramics exactly reflect the definition that the World Organization gives to Intangible Heritage: oral traditions, uses social, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices related to nature, universe, knowledge and techniques linked to traditional crafts.

In these two localities we are faced with a living heritage that collects the practices, expressions, knowledge or techniques that have been transmitted for centuries in both communities, carrying them from one generation to another, from parents to children or from teachers to apprentices, until reaching the current era.

TALAVERA DE LA REINA A CITY LINKED TO THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF CERAMICS SINCE THE 8TH CENTURY

Since the 16th century it has become the famous “City of Ceramics”, an artisan center par excellence in the peninsula, from where tiles have come to decorate monuments and buildings throughout Spain. It would reach its culmination with the illustrious ceramist, Juan Ruiz de Luna, who would refine and refine the technique of making this craft. The importance of this artisan trade in Talavera and the region is so great that in 2019 it was granted the highest recognition worldwide by UNESCO, that of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A CITY OF CONTRASTS WHERE TO ENJOY ITS IMPORTANT CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE

In Talavera you can discover, in addition to its important cultural spaces, a remarkable natural environment with the Tagus River as the protagonist. You can do different hiking routes and activities such as cycling, fishing, golf or canoeing thanks to the rich natural environment that surrounds this city. Territory where the environments of great scenic value next to the Tagus River, such as the Nature Center of the Isla de los Molinos or the Barrancas de Cerro Negro next to the Palomarejos area, will allow the visitor to delight in a flora and fauna characteristic of riverbank. Talavera, a city of landscape contrasts where, in addition to the riverside, we can discover a landscape of berrocal and Mediterranean undergrowth around the La Portiña reservoir, an aquatic setting with pine and holm oak forests where the famous battle of Talavera against the Napoleonic armies took place in the War of Independence.

TALAVERA CITY OF THE SENSES THAT WILL NOT LEAVE YOU INDIFFERENT, Fusing CRAFTSMANSHIP, GASTRONOMY, CULTURE AND NATURE FOR THE DELIGHT OF ITS VISITORS

Talavera lands steeped in history over the centuries, with a rich cultural and natural heritage that will surprise visitors enjoying a varied tourist offer. Talavera city of the senses where the pleasure of culture links with a traditional gastronomy in which to taste an artisan heritage that finds its roots in a picturesque landscape characterized by contrasts. Nuances so disparate but loaded with so much authenticity that make a visit to Talavera de la Reina a unique experience for the senses.

ARCHBISHOP BRIDGE, ARTISAN VILLAGE INTANGIBLE HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

Famous is the production of ceramics with green, orange and yellow tones that have given it the privilege of being considered Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Currently, the ceramics from El Puente del Arzobispo are the population’s first source of income. The Puenteños potteries provide plates, basins, casseroles, jugs, pitchers and jugs to the entire region. His pieces have a certain ruralism that gives them grace and character.

TO DISCOVER ITS INTERPRETATION CENTER IS TO KNOW THE TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP OF THE CERAMISTS OF PUENTE DEL ARZOBISPO

In its Ceramics Interpretation Center, the traveler will be able to discover those greens and yellows of popular taste from its pottery and ceramic workshops, workshops that keep this ancient tradition alive, this being one of the oldest crafts of humanity. They are pieces of undoubted artistic value that will not go unnoticed by those who love crafts.

A MUNICIPALITY WITH HISTORY NEXT TO THE TAJO RIVER TO SHOW VISITORS ITS CULTURAL AND NATURAL POTENTIAL

The historical foundations of the municipality of El Puente del Arzobispo are linked to the construction of the stone bridge, ordered to be built by Pedro Tenorio, archbishop of Toledo and Duke of Estrada in the 19th century. XIII, on the Tagus River itself. Today, after six hundred years of construction, it is an important communications hub in the region because it is located in a strategic location. Vehicles and people circulate through it daily, some on pilgrimage to the Guadalupe monastery, and others who come in search of its famous crafts.

MORE INFORMATION

https://www.turismoprovinciatoledo.es/talavera-de-la-reina/

https://www.turismoprovinciatoledo.es/el-puente-del-arzobispo/

https://www.turismoprovinciatoledo.es/ruta-de-la-ceramica-y-los-bordados/