From 25-27 January, the Val d’Aran hosted the International Winter University Aran Me+Fecit, the aim of which was to spread knowledge of the Romanesque heritage to which the territory is home. The initiative was organised by the General Council of the Val d’Aran, in cooperation with the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, the University of Navarra, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the University of Barcelona, the Val d’Aran Museums and the National Art Museum of Catalonia, in addition to other academic and cultural institutions.

A wide range of lectures and visits to sacred heritage were scheduled, directed by a number of renowned researchers and historians. On Friday 25, the director of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Josep Lluís i Ginovart, was charged with getting the lecture series underway with a presentation entitled “Architectural research in the Val d’Aran”, which emphasised the historical value of the region’s Romanesque heritage. “It is a unique region in terms of architecture. The people who lived in the Val d’Aran 800 or 900 years ago, though not architects or engineers, taught us a historical lesson”, he pointed out. 

The list of activities organised as part of the Winter University also included a guided tour of the exhibition “Aran me fecit. Des mèstres constructors ara recerca deth patrimòni sacre”. The exhibit, which opened in November, features a selection of materials relating to the 42 churches and chapels in the Val d’Aran, including the results of the research currently being performed by UIC Barcelona’s Patriarq Research Group. The exhibition will be on display until late April in the Sant Joan d’Arties Church.