Bien de Interés Cultural

A Romanesque church in Aragon with Bien de Interés Cultural status

A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain.[1] The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries.

The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense) and includes not only material heritage (cultural property), like monuments or movable works of art, but also intangible cultural heritage,[2] such as the Silbo Gomero language.[3]

Some bienes enjoy international protection as World Heritage Sites or Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

History

In Spain the category of Bien de Interés Cultural dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional (national monument) in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property. The category has been translated as "Cultural Interest Asset".[4] Monumentos are now identified as one of the sub-categories of Bien de Interés Cultural.

Sub-categories

Jardín histórico: Royal Botanical Garden, Madrid

The movable heritage designated as Bienes de Interes Cultural ("Cultural Interest Assets") includes archeological artefacts, archives and large works of art. Such protected objects may well be kept in a building which is itself a BIC.[5]

Regional variants

This village is recognised as a Conjunto Etnológico. [6]

Under the Spanish system regions maintain their own registers of cultural heritage (see Patrimonio histórico español). There have been some differences in approach between autonomous communities. An example is bullfighting (which at a national level is now regulated by the Ministry of Culture).[7] Madrid's regional government considers that bullfighting events should be protected as cultural heritage,[8] whereas in Catalonia a ban on bullfighting came into effect in 2012, although this was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

See also

References

External links

Copyright