Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre: 20 years of study, dissemination and protection of the artistic heritage of Navarre.

This year, the School of Philosophy and Letters celebrates the 20th anniversary of the launching of the Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre. It became a reality in 2005 at the initiative of several professors, among them Mª Concepción García Gaínza and Ricardo Fernández Gracia, with the sponsorship the Government of Navarra. It was born with the purpose of researching, disseminating and enhancing the artistic and cultural bequest of Navarre, generating synergies between academia and the social fabric.

During these two decades of existence, the Chair s activity has been intense and sustained. As a result of this work, dozens of scientific publications, doctoral thesis and monographic programs of study have been promoted.

In addition to research, the Chair has been committed since its inception to the training and knowledge dissemination of the tangible and intangible heritage of Navarre, in partnership with municipalities, cultural associations, parishes and local entities. In this sense, it has promoted summer courses, workshops, conference and lecture series, in order to bring the knowledge of heritage to the general public.

In the following interview, Ricardo Fernández Gracia, director the Chair, and the deputy directors, Mercedes Galán and Ignacio Miguéliz, review these 20 years of existence.

The Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre was established in 2005 with the goal of promote awareness of cultural heritage and its dissemination. Looking back, how would you describe the evolution and impact of the Chair in these 20 years?

RICARDO FERNÁNDEZ GRACIA. The Art History area of the University of Navarra has been working since 1977, almost half a century, in the research, knowledge, dissemination and conservation of Navarra's cultural heritage, in line with the recommendations of national and international heritage institutions. After the completion of the Monumental Catalog of Navarra (1977-1997), a work of national and international reference letter , directed by Professor García Gaínza, we proceeded to its photographic digitalization and computerized cataloguing.

Based on these solid instructions, in 2005 the Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre was born, at the initiative of the professors Mª Concepción García Gaínza and the History of Art area of the School of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Navarra, with the sponsorship the Regional Government. This marked the beginning of a new stage in order to put at the service of Navarre's society the knowledge and evaluation of a heritage that belongs to it, for the sake of its protection and conservation. From 2005 onwards, the main objective was the dissemination, without neglecting research in many areas, as the only way to know and value the rich heritage of tangible and intangible heritage received from our ancestors.

Everything that has been done has been reflected in the Chair s website, which has not been limited, since its inception, to a mere diary, with titles of topics discussed, teachers and dates, but, for each of the activities, includes a summary, accompanied by a photographic repertoire, and images of what has been discussed. This makes the aforementioned web page especially unique and rich. Ten years ago we made a small statistic and until then more than 20,000 people had personally attended the organized activities. The web page has been and continues to be fundamental in the impact.

^{In the Magna classroom , on April 6, 2005, during the Chairs presentation ceremony, following its constitution and start-up}

2.- Throughout these two decades, the Chair has organized numerous conferences and seminars. Could you highlight some of the most significant events and their contribution to the study and dissemination of Navarre's heritage?

MERCEDES GALÁN. There have been different types of congresses, from some with a national or international projection, such as "Walled Cities" or "Presence and External Influences in Navarre's Art"; to cycles around an artist, the heritage of a region, a city, or a monument, or referring to less known and less diffused general issues such as sumptuary arts.

With the degree scroll of "Acercar el patrimonio" (Bringing heritage closer), different cities and towns of the region have been visited. We must not forget the successful summer courses held, among other places, in Tafalla, Olite, Baztán, Tudela, Estella, Los Arcos, Corella and Pamplona. For several years, special cycles for Christmas and Easter were held in Pamplona and other localities.

The topics discussed covered a wide range of heritage aspects for the sake of Education and awareness, following the recommendations of UNESCO and the committee of Europe, which warn that the conservation and protection of heritage depends primarily on Education at all levels, both in formal and non-formal teaching , recommending this function to public and educational administrations.

^{Prof. García Gainza, in 1999, during the celebration of a conference the}

3.- Regarding publications, the Chair has produced several works, such as the "Cuadernos de la Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro". How many volumes have been published and which ones do you consider to have had the greatest relevance in the academic and cultural sphere?

IGNACIO MIGUÉLIZ. The Cuadernos contain six monographic titles -Camino de Santiago, programs of study on the cathedral of Pamplona, photography (...). They were published between 2006 and 2011, in volumes that are already obligatory reference letter for the programs of study our heritage. It is also worth mentioning the paper edition of the memoirs between 2005 and 2012. Since 2012, the report of activities is only available in digital version.

In addition, a collection of small monographs has been published, 9 in total, which this year will be completed with a tenth one dedicated to the programs of the Sanfermines. These monographs deal with general, unpublished and synthesis aspects, following important research. Among their titles: Alonso Cano and the Crucified of Lekaroz; the Views of Navarre; Dressing the authority. Attributes of power and municipal representation in Navarre; Jewelry in Navarre (1550-1900); Painted votive offerings in Navarre; Grapes and vines and wine in the cultural heritage of Navarre; The house and the domestic space in Navarre; or the Chapel of San Fermin in the parish church of San Lorenzo in Pamplona, all of them by professors who make up the team of the Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre.

The Chair 's team includes professors from the Universities of Navarra, La Rioja, Zaragoza, Complutense, Basque Country, Alcalá de Henares and Murcia, and researchers from other institutions, from different museums, and corresponding academicians of the Royal Academy of History. All these publications can be consulted online in the publications section of the Chairs web page.

Finally, we have also collaborated in the edition of other topics such as San Francisco Javier, courses in Tierra Estella and Viana, emigration and the architecture of Huarte, or the 40th anniversary of El Sadar.

^{workshop on Holy Week in Navarre, in 2001}

partnership with experts and academics has been a core topic in the Chairs activities. How many specialists have participated in the different projects and how has this enriched the Chairs work?

MERCEDES GALÁN. We have counted with the presence of professors and researchers from the universities Complutense de Madrid, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Burgos, Santiago de Compostela, Basque Country, Oviedo, Murcia, Seville, Alcalá de Henares, Santiago de Compostela, Jaume I de Castellón, Autónoma de Barcelona, UNED, Politécnica de Madrid, Autónoma de Madrid, Granada, Perugia, Toulouse, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, and institutions such as Museo Reina Sofía, Real Academia San Fernando, Real Academia de Historia, CSIC, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, and institutions such as Museo Reina Sofía, Real Academia de San Fernando, Real Academia de la Historia, CSIC, Museo del Greco de Toledo, Museo del Prado, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Museo de Navarra, Museo Nacional de Escultura de Valladolid, Madrid Intermediae, among others.

^{Summer course in Tudela, in 2008}

In addition to conferences and publications, the Chair has one of its most popular activities in its virtual classroom . Could you share some examples of these initiatives and their impact on the local and academic community?

RICARDO FERNÁNDEZ GRACIA. In the virtual classroom there are three main areas: Piece of the month; Itineraries and visits, and Virtual exhibitions. As for the first, the piece of the month, today you can see an issue of 234, among which there are prints, sculptures, paintings, commemorative medals, ethnographic pieces, embroidery, cribs, altarpieces, popular ceramics, rural kitchens, ... etc., with the common denominator of being unpublished or provide new knowledge about them, either in their attribution, dating or correct contextualization. This year and perhaps next year, all the pieces will have a unit: the flags of the town halls, a topic practically unstudied and for which it is necessary to count on specialists who know very well all the documentation of the municipal archives.

Regarding visits and itineraries, 43 itineraries or visits can be consulted, both to monuments (cathedrals, monasteries...) and to architectural typologies (houses and palaces of Baztán, town halls) or routes to get to know the altarpieces of a specific area (Roncal, Baztán).

With respect to the exhibitions designed ad hoc, there are 16, in which you can find topics such as the grips of Sarasate's walking sticks, Navarrese law in its fundamental texts, the clothing of the Roncalese in nineteenth-century portraits, St. Veremundo in his millennium, medieval tabernacles, the imperial canal, the collection of commemorative medals of the City of Pamplona, or the prolific and unknown designer Julio Arrieta.

^{In 2011, during a summer course}

6.- The digitization and dissemination of heritage have gained importance in recent years. What efforts has the Chair made in this regard to bring Navarre's heritage to a wider public?

IGNACIO MIGUÉLIZ. The construction of the website and its weekly and daily monitoring, in many cases is the best example, both in face-to-face and online activities, related to the virtual classroom . Twenty years later, we must recognize that it was an extraordinary decision to collect all subject of activity, lecture, visit, class, congress or publication in the mentioned web.

^{In 2018, during the presentation of the book on jewelry in Navarre.}

7.- The partnership with institutions such as the Government of Navarra has been fundamental for the Chair development . How has this relationship evolved and what joint projects would you highlight?

MERCEDES GALÁN. The Chair of Heritage and Art of Navarre was created at the University of Navarra, in 2005, with the sponsorship the Government of Navarra. From 2016 onwards it has been receiving the call for projects of the Chairs of the Navarrese Universities of the General Administration of Universities of the department of Education of the Government of Navarra. Since its inception it has had the partnership and funding for specific programs of local entities.

The Chair has collaborated with various organizations, administrations and entities, among them: the city councils of Pamplona, Baztán, Lerín, Mendigorría, Miranda de Arga, Corella, Huarte-Pamplona, Olite, Tafalla, Tudela, Oteiza de la Solana, Sesma, Larraga, Los Arcos, Villatuerta, Pitillas and Estella; the parishes of Cintruénigo, Oteiza de la Solana, Fitero, Arguedas, Valtierra, Los Arcos and Pitillas; the Cathedrals of Pamplona and Tudela and entities such as the Bullfighting Club, the Ateneo de Navarra, the Dioceses of Pamplona-Tudela, the Osasuna Foundation, the Museum of Navarra, the Museo Decanal of Tudela, the Gustavo de Maeztu Museum of Estella, the Casa de Misericordia of Pamplona, the Fundación de las Casas Históricas de España, Diario de Navarra, Panasa, the Foundations Caja Navarra, Fuentes Dutor, Mencos, the Gayarre Museum of Roncal; the Associations of Friends of the Monastery of Fitero, the Cathedral of Pamplona, the Cathedral of Tudela and Cascante "Vicus", the Brotherhood of the Passion of Pamplona and the Monastery of Tulebras.

^{Collection of the 9 small monographs published to date}

8.- Looking to the future, what are the main challenges and objectives that the Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art has set for the coming years?

RICARDO FERNÁNDEZ GRACIA. In this year of celebration of the 20th anniversary, we do not only want to cultivate nostalgia, but to sow hope, around a project that we believe is still valid today, with other people, with other means, with another public. In final, adapting to the times, but eagerly following the founding spirit, which is none other than the Latin motto "Nihil volitum quin praecognitum" or what it is: nothing can be known, valued, estimated and assumed, if it is not known. In this regard, we are experiencing the great acceptance of those sessions of integration of monumental and movable heritage with the landscape, music and literature is something that has pull and enormous beauty.

Likewise, we must recover initiatives such as "Discover Navarra" that began in 2019 with the partnership of Diario de Navarra, which was interrupted for obvious reasons in 2020 and will have to be resumed at some point, because it consisted of looking, seeing, contemplating and reading in situ, monuments from the interdisciplinary nature of the works of art, along with music and literature, which turned their contemplation into a true experience of the "genius loci" of each of the places visited, of their idiosyncrasy and uniqueness.

As a wish, we would very much like to be able to count again with a sponsorship, in order to provide scholarships to the general public to be able to teach again a subject of Navarrese art, something that was already done for eleven years and which benefited hundreds of people interested in our heritage.

^{Selection of reports on the Chairs annual activity}