The National Tourism Plan Xacobeo 2021-2022 includes among its most important investments in the chapter of rehabilitation of historical heritage the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias. This was announced today by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, at a ceremony held at the museum itself, which was also attended by the President of the Principality, Adrián Barbón; the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, and the Regional Minister for Culture, Language Policy and Tourism, Berta Piñán.
With an investment of 5.9 million, the intervention in the Bellas Artes is part of the Xacobeo plan due to the fact that it is the first museum of the Primitive Way, as it is located a few metres from the cathedral of Oviedo, the starting point of the historical pilgrimages to Santiago.
As Piñán pointed out during his speech, the physical proximity of the origin of the Primitive Way and the Fine Arts Museum adds «an emblematic charge as a unique enclave of Asturian heritage, which has made them icons of excellence».
The expansion of the art gallery is aimed at making the Bellas Artes the visible head of the cultural tourism offer in Asturias. The minister recalled that the museum has a permanent collection of more than 15,000 works of art, and that in 2019 it set an all-time record for the number of visitors, with nearly 112,000.
In addition, she reiterated her department’s commitment to promoting a transversal and intensive tourism strategy for Xacobeo 2021-2022 «that focuses on the councils and towns along the Jacobean routes, with a programme that brings together numerous cultural events, itineraries and tourist activities aimed at promoting greater knowledge of our Pilgrims’ Routes to Santiago».
Expansion project
The expansion project of the Fine Arts Museum, which was among the priority commitments of the Regional Ministry of Culture for this term of office, will complete the adaptation of the art gallery to the great relevance of its artistic collection and will guarantee the accessibility of all its spaces, as well as providing the facility with an auditorium.
Specifically, the project will improve circulation between the three museum buildings: the Palacio Velarde, the Casa de Oviedo-Portal and the Ampliación building. It will also improve the organisation of the exhibition rooms, making them as spacious, diaphanous and versatile as possible, and will increase the height of these rooms and that of the restoration workshop. The plan also envisages the creation of an auditorium and assembly hall that will allow for the development of a complete programme of cultural dissemination and divulgation.
In addition, the space for storing works of art will be increased, which will allow for a large carpentry workshop and a general storage area for maintenance materials, exhibits, tools and transport machinery. The project also includes a dock for loading and unloading works of art.
With its execution, the cultural heritage tourism offer linked to the Way of St. James in Oviedo, a city where the Primitive Way, the Coastal Way (through the Sariego and Siero junction) and the Way of the Saviour converge, will be significantly reinforced.
The Xacobeo 21-22 National Tourism Plan is aimed at promoting the Pilgrims’ Routes to Santiago as a cultural and heritage product throughout Spain, with an investment of over 121 million euros, to be financed with European Next Generation funds.