A inclusion of the Promontório de Sagres in the official list of the European Heritage Label, decided last week by the European Commission, is «an asset for the promotion of tourism» in the Algarve, considers Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA).
«We are delighted with the news and we believe that the attribution of the European Heritage Label to one of the most mystical and most visited places in the whole Algarve is an asset for the tourist promotion of the destination», assures Desidério Silva.
The president of RTA also emphasizes «the merit of the work developed by the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve in the application of this property, which fulfilled all the requirements demanded by the brand and had the unconditional support of the regional tourism entity».
Simultaneously with the European recognition, the RTA says it is waiting for «the outcome of the candidacy developed by the Algarve to the indicative list of Portuguese properties that are candidates for UNESCO World Heritage of the “Places of the first globalization”, which also includes Sagres».
Also according to the EC, this was the first year in which participation was open to all Member States of the European Union who expressed their interest in proposing to a panel of experts sites whose importance has significantly contributed to European history and culture, in a total of 18 applications in 2015.
About Ponta de Sagres – the only Portuguese project to be hosted this year –, the EC emphasizes “its strategic location and its importance over the centuries”, as well as the site's connection to the “period of the Discoveries, which marked the expansion of European culture, science, exploration and trade, opening the way for the affirmation and projection of European civilization, which came to shape the modern world».
The European Heritage Label is a distinction reserved only for «places that celebrate and symbolize European ideals, values, history and integration».
The Sagres Promontory is one of nine historic sites in Portugal, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium, Poland and France now recognized with the European cultural seal and thus joining the other twenty that received the Mark in the last two years.
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