The deputies of the Assembly of the Republic (AR) that make up the Economy and Public Works Commission will travel this Tuesday, May 8, from 9:30 am, on a visit to Tavira.
The delegation will be received, at Paços do Concelho, by the mayor's President, Jorge Botelho, who will make known the candidacy of the Mediterranean Diet the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as well as the newly opened Islamic Nucleus of the Municipal Museum of Tavira.
Portugal, through Tavira, as its representative community, entered the UNESCO headquarters, in Paris, last March, with the candidacy of the Mediterranean Diet for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
It is a transnational candidacy that, in addition to Portugal, involves other States and communities such as Cyprus (Agros), Croatia (Hvar and Brac), Greece (Koroni), Spain (Soria), Italy (Cilento), Morocco (Chefchaouen). It should be considered and voted on by UNESCO at the General Assembly (AG) scheduled for the last quarter of 2013. This new candidacy is intended for the extension to Cyprus, Croatia and Portugal of the classification of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity attributed to the Mediterranean Diet, in UNESCO GA November 2010 (Nairobi).
The Municipality of Tavira, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Sea, Environment, Spatial Planning (MAMAOT) and the UNESCO National Commission, prepared the formal process, coordinating in the final phase also information and documentation from representative States and communities .
The classification of the Mediterranean Diet as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, now covering Portugal, is an act with legal implications and increased responsibilities for the country and the region, which will open up new opportunities for the promotion of local products and cultural tourism, will allow for deepening knowledge and inventories on technologies and processes, traditions, cultural practices and artistic expressions related to Portuguese intangible heritage. It will also enable greater dissemination of the public health benefits of this millenary diet, recognized as having high nutritional and preventive value by the World Health Organization.
Portugal is a Mediterranean country due to its climate and nature, its agri-food production, conviviality and sociability; the Mediterranean Diet is a lifestyle deeply rooted in the experiences of the Portuguese, which is important to preserve and pass on to future generations.
Islamic Nucleus motivates visit
The other reason for the visit of the Parliamentary Committee is related to the Islamic Nucleus. After 14 years, this space now gives new life to the city center.
This is a human, material and financial effort (€2,085 million invested) developed by the Municipality of Tavira, 50% supported by European (POAlgarve, Interreg) and national (Promuseus) funds.
The municipality proceeded with the acquisition of land and building (the Tourism Office is located on the lower floor), contracted archeology services, architectural projects and specialties, carried out works to consolidate the wall and adapt, finally museography works for the installation of the nucleus. , with the main objective of providing the townspeople with their historic heritage, allowing everyone access to the spoils that have come down to us, testimonies of the presence of the Mediterranean civilizations that preceded us.
The Islamic component of the History of Tavira is open to the public, as part of the strategy of the Municipal Museum of Tavira (member of the Portuguese Network of Museums/IMC), a polynucleated and multi-themed territory museum, which already includes the Palácio da Galeria for the dissemination of Tavira's heritage and history and current artistic events, the Cachopo Museum on mountain ethnography, the Tavira Water Supply Interpretation Center, the Santa Catarina Cooperative Center on olive oil production, the Albacora Hotel Center about tuna fishing and the Almóada Neighborhood of the Pousada do Convento de Nossa Senhora da Graça.
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