Tag Archives: Heritage

The territorial corrupt practices of Menorca in carnival version

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Many people took part last Sunday in the carnival troupe organised within the framework of the Via Menorca campaign.

An initial group, dressed in suits and ties, carrying briefcases and documents, offered favourable reports and licences while €500 notes were exchanged. There was also a spectacular swimming pool (or perhaps it was a cistern?). A large roundabout related to Talayotic Menorca was also present, as well as several pages of the Island Territorial Plan.

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Over one hundred personalities and professionals from the fields of archaeology and landscape warn the Island Council of Menorca of the serious mistake of ignoring UNESCO

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More than one hundred people related to cultural heritage and its management from across the State — including professors, PhDs, members of ICOMOS, landscape experts, geographers, architects and museum directors — have signed a statement asking the Island Council of Menorca to halt a project that affects an area declared World Heritage.

This controversy arises from the intention to build a two-level roundabout at the Rafal Rubí junction, in the eastern part of the island and next to an archaeological site where, in 2013, work began but was halted due to the withdrawal of the contract. During this time, Menorca applied to be declared World Heritage because of its valuable Talayotic legacy, and UNESCO already requested that the half-built junction be removed because it constituted a very significant alteration of the landscape of one of the protected areas included in the candidacy. This request was explicitly repeated when Menorca received the World Heritage designation in September 2023.

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Citizen counterpower

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Today’s political and social debate is increasingly conditioned by polarization. The unrestrained leader of the Western bloc is setting an example with exaggerations and lies. His style has reached our lands.

The new strategy is to place all opinions into only two opposing blocs, in order to try to gain legitimacy among usual followers. At this point, inventing things to feed conspiracy theories poses no problem.

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UNESCO halts the large Rafal Rubí bridge project

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Menorca’s organized civil society has achieved another victory in the conservation of the island’s landscape values. UNESCO has taken a position on the controversy surrounding the double-level roundabout that the Island Council intends to build at Rafal Rubí and has requested that the works be stopped and that a less impactful alternative be sought — precisely what civic entities have been asking for.

Several cultural, social, and environmental associations have jointly demanded that the design of the Rafal Rubí junction respect the guidelines established by UNESCO when Talayotic Menorca was declared a World Heritage Site.

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International concern and appeal over Rafal Rubí

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UNESCO has responded to the letter sent by nine social and scientific organizations regarding the project that the Consell Insular plans to build at the Rafal Rubí junction.

The international body states that this double-level structure, affecting lands that are part of Menorca Talaiòtica, was already a matter of concern for the World Heritage Committee at the time of inscription in 2023, and that it is closely monitoring the state of conservation of the protected site in collaboration with the competent authorities in Spain.

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The Rafal Rubí Scandal

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The Island Council of Menorca’s plan to go ahead with the construction of a two-level overpass at Rafal Rubí is turning into an international scandal. The Ministry of Culture has had to intervene, the Director of the Menorca Talaiòtica Agency has resigned, and so has the main UNESCO consultant who made the declaration possible. It is evident that things are not being handled well.

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Submit objections to the Rafal Rubí project

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Several organisations from different fields are joining forces to call for the Rafal Rubí junction to be executed in a way that respects the heritage values of the area. Associations or individuals who wish to support this cause can submit objections until this Friday, 16 May.

Attached to this note, you will find templates that can easily be adapted. Feel free to add or remove whatever you consider appropriate.

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Eminent humility

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Our Mediterranean environment is not a primeval space. For over a million years, the first hominids have passed through these lands, leaving behind the mark of a species uniquely capable of transforming the places it inhabits.

That is why our landscapes are the result of both the primordial nature that shaped them—geology, climate, biology—and the decisions made by our ancestors at different points in history.

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