The Fundación Iberdrola España, the Ministerio de Cultura de Portugal and the authorities of Boticas and Guimarães have signed the collaboration protocol to begin the restoration of the romanesque churches of Covas do Barroso (Boticas) and Serzedelo (Guimarães), in the north of Portugal.
This collaboration happens within the scope of the Atlantic Romanesque Plan, an initiative that began in 2010 to join Iberdrola’s hydroelectric project in the river Tâmega, the largest of such characteristics taking place in Europe over the last 25 years.
The main goal of the Atlantic Romanesque Plan is to preserve, restore and value heritage, while placing the bases for the sustainable growth and development of the territory, through the creation of employment, the socioeconomic dynamization, the touristic promotion and the redistribution of the investment by the rural centers in which it takes place.
In this second stage of the project, the Fundación Iberdrola España, the Ministerio de Cultura de Portugal and the municipalities of Boticas and Guimarães will invest a total of 180.000 euros. From those, 60.000 euros will be destined for the restoration of the church of Covas do Barroso, in Boticas, and the remaining 120.000 euros for the rehabilitation of the Serzedelo church, in Guimarães.
Atlantic Romanesque
The Atlantic Romanesque Intervention Plan is a trans-border cooperation project for the conservation of the Cultural Heritage that includes restoration and valoration projects of over 20 romanesque churches located in the Spanish provinces of Zamora and Salamanca and in the Portuguese regions of Porto, Vila Real and Bragança.
Since 2010 there is a close collaboration between the different entities from Spain and Portugal, specifically between the Consejería de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León, the Secretaría de Estado de Cultura de Portugal, Iberdrola España, the Catholic Church of Portugal and the Spanish dioceses of Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Zamora and Astorga.
With a global budget of 4.5 million euros, the plan has been promoting the cultural diffusion and the development of new management models for the dynamization and economics of the implied areas since 2015. This program is planned to continue until 2018. Besides, with this type of initiatives, Iberdrola consolidates its compromise with corporate social responsibility and the conservation of heritage. These plans happen through the development of joint actions with the municipalities and administrative entities involved in the different projects.
