The first map in Figure 4 reveals that heritage assets are numerous in the provinces of Catalonia,
Madrid and Murcia (a possible outlier). A bird’s eye view of all Spain reveals that there’s relative
abundance of heritage assets in coastal areas and around Madrid, while sparsely populated
provinces without an important history are relatively less endowed. Art and culture are naturally
tied to civilisation and human settlements. Andalusia (especially the provinces of Seville, Granada,
Malaga) stand out as a culturally cohesive territory as do Catalonia.
Figure 5 shows that the Province of Barcelona, Madrid, the coastal Andalusian provinces of Malaga
and Cadiz, as well as the Basque and some Galician provinces have the highest concentrations of
heritage resources. Provinces which include other large conurbations like Sevilla, Valencia,
Sandander and Valladolid follow suit. This reflects to some extent the “urban” nature of the heritage
and the importance of maritime locations, where natural and cultural assets intertwine and where
the fertile encounter of ancient civilisations has left the most visible traces. The pressure map in
Figure 6 reveals that regions where a potential for abuse of cultural assets are both among sparely
populated areas or in densely populated areas, so this information is inconclusive.
Figure 5 Spain, density of heritage assets in NUTS III regions (assets / kmq). Index
(Spain = 100). Source: Ministerio de Cultura de Espana. Data elaborated by A.P. Russo, J.
Duch, F. Romagosa
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