Zaragoza, host of an international forum for the 25th anniversary of Mudéjar art as a World Heritage Site

It was in 2001 that Mudéjar art was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and Zaragoza boasts three of the architectural gems that were precursors and the first examples of this architectural style. To celebrate this anniversary, the Aragonese capital will host an international forum organized in conjunction with UN Tourism on March 12 and 13. During these two days, talks will be held on culture, heritage, and tourism, as well as addressing the various challenges faced by cities with World Heritage status.

The forum will be held at the Cathedral of the Savior (La Seo) , the Aljafería Palace , and the Church of San Pablo. Participants will also be able to explore these sites through guided tours offered over the two days. This international gathering will help put Zaragoza on the map, as representatives from Amsterdam, Cologne, Zagreb, and Linz will be in attendance. The Ministry of Culture, international experts in world heritage, universities, and cultural organizations will also be present.

Titled “World Heritage and Tourism: An Unbeatable Partnership,” this forum is part of the official UN Tourism program for 2026, reinforcing Zaragoza’s international profile and its position as a city committed to a tourism model based on culture, heritage conservation, and sustainability. The inclusion of this event on the international agenda establishes Zaragoza as a key location for the global debate on heritage destinations.

TALKS AND VISITS

“We are facing a key year for cultural and tourism development, and this forum is one of the highlights of the program, an international gathering that places our city at the heart of the debate on heritage, culture, and sustainable tourism,” stated the Minister of Culture, Sara Fernández, at the presentation of the international forum this Wednesday. She was accompanied by the manager of Zaragoza Tourism, José Francisco García, and Jordi Treserras, consultant on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism for UNESCO and the Organization of Ibero-American States.

The program is structured around three areas of reflection. The first session will address the relationships between heritage, culture, and tourism, analyzing how these areas reinforce each other when managed from a strategic perspective. The second section will focus on experiences and best practices in the management of tourist destinations with World Heritage sites.

For the Tourism Councillor, Sara Fernández, this forum fulfills the City Council’s strategic objectives. Firstly, it highlights the value of world heritage as an engine for sustainable tourism development, “capable of generating knowledge, employment, and opportunities, always with respect and conservation.”

Secondly, it aims to create a space for international dialogue, where experts, institutions, and cities can share experiences and best practices. And finally, it contributes to “strengthening Zaragoza’s international profile, positioning it as a benchmark for cultural and heritage tourism.” Beyond the working sessions, attendees will be able to explore the city’s art through guided tours of monuments, institutional meetings, and cultural activities.

With the celebration of this forum , Zaragoza reaffirms its commitment to the protection, conservation and dissemination of its world heritage and advances in its objective of consolidating itself as a leading cultural destination in Europe and internationally, “taking advantage of the year 2026 as a unique opportunity to project its historical legacy into the future.”

“We want this meeting to be understood as the prologue to a far-reaching cultural cycle , since 2026 marks the beginning of the journey towards one of Zaragoza’s great cultural celebrations, the Goya Bicentenary,” Fernández stated.

According to the Minister of Culture, the most universal Aragonese artist “is deeply linked to the city, its heritage and spaces such as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, where he left some of his first masterpieces” and, in this context, “heritage, art and contemporary creation are part of the same story that Zaragoza wants to project to the world.”