Europe looks towards the Alhambra

The meeting of the Full Board of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife has given the green light to the programme of events and the budget for 2013, set at 25,622,860 euros, 1.60% more than in the previous year. The meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of Culture and Sport of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Luciano Alonso, was also informed about the Europa Nostra Prize awarded to the Alhambra for the restoration of the Court of the Lions.
The main projects to be undertaken by the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife this year include the opening of the new educational area in the restored Casas de La Mimbre and of the La Estafeta, which will house the Alhambra Visitor Attention Point and the Tourist Information Office, thanks to a joint initiative by the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Provincial Council of Granada and the Granada City Council. Other plans include the drafting of the basic project for the Atrium of the Alhambra and the project for the refitting of the houses on the Calle Real, where it is planned to install a café.
Phase 2 of the Alhambra Archaeology Plan is also scheduled to start in 2013. This will be carried out by the research group led by Antonio Malpica, Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of Granada, within the framework of a joint agreement with the University. An increase of 1€ in the price of the entrance ticket to the Monument was also agreed, while the other tickets remain unchanged. Said price increase will come into effect as of 1st January 2014.
The members of the Board were also informed about the continuation of various sponsorship and cooperation agreements with numerous professional groups and public and private institutions. These include the announcement of the consolidation of inter-territorial structural compensation funds by the Regional Government of Andalusia with more than 3,000,000 € of European funds from public invitations to tender, such as those for the Redalh Cooperation Project and the participation of the Council of the Alhambra as a beneficiary in the technological innovation project, Tag Cloud, led by the Polytechnic University of Madrid together with other international groups, and the dissemination of the Routes of the Renaissance organized by the Tuscany Region.
The incorporation of the Regional Government, acting through the Alhambra, into the governing bodies of the Rodríguez-Acosta Foundation is now “a reality”, according to the Minister of Culture and Sport of the Regional Government, Luciano Alonso, who explained that the activities planned for 2013 will include “the organization and planning of cultural and research activities and the conservation of this space, which also houses the legacy of the Gómez Moreno family, so that it may be opened to the public as part of the range of services offered by the Alhambra and Generalife in collaboration with other institutions in Granada”.
The Regional Government’s entry into the Rodríguez-Acosta Foundation has been materialized through a public grant of 341,000 euros for 2013. These funds are included in the annual budget for the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife, which will also provide other material and human resources.