LA MASÍA: PRESERVED HERITAGE AND RESPONSIBLE LEGACY By Victoria Bassa Garrido, Head of Technical Consultancy, Monumenta – APCECC [email protected] / cell phone 639 573 447 1. - MONUMENTA Monumenta, the Owners Association of Castles and Classed Building of Catalonia, founded in 1992, was born with the aim to create a common front among the owners of listed buildings to face the difficult task of preserving family heritage with guarantees, looking for maximum support from the responsible and supervisory agencies thereof. Nowadays it hosts and represents around 130 members in 200 listed buildings. It is open to all those owners in Catalonia with an exclusively private use of its building, those with an open business either continuously or not, opening for visits and activities, or those that may start a business to make it profitable. Monumenta is a benchmark association in Catalonia to defend the preservation, maintenance and management of cultural heritage into private hands; it is, also, a representative institution that seeks dialogue and alternatives with the public administration to participate in future legislation which may affect the architectural heritage and its legacy to future generations. Monumenta has generated a lobby with the objective of creating a private brand of quality to link up not only with the administration but also with the business sector, mainly the area related to tourism. The association is a benchmark for owners in the advisory services they might receive in economic, legal, tax, technical conservation and restoration, management and business activities, related to their buildings. As a Catalan association, Monumenta is member part of the main European organization of historic buildings, the European Historic Houses based in Brussels. This platform allows a direct participation in the problems and solutions raised from this central body, taking part in issues and decisions concerning, among others, the approval of European technical regulations for new application, and its effect on heritage buildings. Monumenta regularly participates in the annual Assembly held in different European cities. The current activity of the association is reinforced by the different agreements with other institutions related with both public and private cultural heritage. Attendance at fairs and conferences as well as the events organized by the association itself as seminars, conferences and publications are used to inform members and, at the same time, are open to the participation of other entities who share common interests. The presence since last year, in social networks has enabled wide coverage, and the offer of activities and organized visits to buildings of members and non-members, is a key to promote and raise awareness of the heritage in general and the one of Monumenta in particular. Monumenta is also committed towards next owners generation to help them get involved and be familiar on the responsibility of family legacy and heritage conservation that later on will assume, unifying criteria and sharing experiences with young owners of other countries through `the European association. This is a complicated path of responsibility and decision-making that is moving in most cases to completely necessary alternative ways to guarantee the maintenance of revenues from the heritage building itself, either with a professionalized cultural management of visits and timely use events, either opening hotels or other tourism businesses, always taking into account the nature of the building and its surroundings. 2. - RURAL TOURISM IN CATALONIA Rural tourism and agro tourism are a clear commitment to the development of tourism in rural towns of inland and mountain Catalonia, and contribute to enhance other leisure and parallel activities. The existence of a housing offer fully integrated into the landscape and not overcrowded makes it compatible with those theses that opt for sustainable development that respects the environment. Many rural tourism establishments are clear examples of the architecture of the site and contribute to the preservation of rural heritage through the enhancement of built spaces that were obsolete following the agrarian crisis. The regulation of rural tourism by the Regional Administration has been key during the initial phases of creation and growing supply, and has established basic criteria that set standards and performance requirements of the accommodations. Meanwhile, associations and local authorities (councils) are active in the field of marketing and promotion of rural tourism, and one of its priorities revolves around the issue of quality in tourism services rendered. The existence of a Confederation of Rural Tourism Establishments in Catalonia is an important milestone that must contribute to better coordinate the actions of internal and external communication, optimize resources, both human and material, to standardize quality criteria, and has helped the current “espigas” classification of these establishments according to regulations of the Generalitat. The dynamism that shows this offer in Catalonia has increased the supply of rural tourism and agro tourism in all regions of both inland and mountain. Growth has been territorially asymmetric and the largest volume of establishments and places are in northern Catalonia. The sector is now showing signs of certain stagnation after achieving high standards in creating new offer. REGULATION OF RURAL TOURISM OFFER In Spain, accommodation in rural tourism and agro tourism is regulated by Regional Governments. Catalonia, in 1983, was pioneering in regulate this new type of offer. The name for it was “residència-casa de pages”, (Decree 365/1983 of August 4), added to the other existing forms of housing (boarding houses and campsites). Thereafter Rural tourism had a new legal framework in which to grow and expand. The basic features of these accommodations, which stay until today, are, first, to be located in rural areas, outside or inside villages of fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, second, be integrated into existing buildings above 1950 and respecting the architectural style of the area, third, have a minimum capacity of 4 people and a maximum of 15, and, finally, not be located in apartments considered as independent homes in a building of several floors under condominiums. The tourism policy was updated in 1995 with Decree 214/1995 of 27 June, and the most significant change was the introduction of three different types of accommodation: the “masia”, the village house and the independent rural accommodation (ARIO), according to the location of the house (alone or within a nucleus), and depending if the rental is for rooms or for the whole house. The Tourism Law 13/2002 of 21 June, adopted by the Catalan Parliament in 2002, provides a new amendment to the regulations, and establishes rural tourism as new denomination, providing the classification into two groups, farmhouses and rural tourism establishments, where the holder must be a professional farmer getting the incomes from farming, cattle or woods, and, where users can learn the characteristics of farming activities; and, second, the rural accommodation, where its holder does not have to obtain incomes from the estate, but must live in the same region or property, depending on the type. This new classification allows to clearly distinguishing the agro tourism offer from the rest of rural tourism. 2006 Decree came into effect on 25 July 313/2006 establishing the classification into two groups, farmhouses and rural accommodation, and introducing some changes in the names of modalities, which will be as follows for the two groups: Masia: Single Family house outside the nucleus, shared by the holder and users, providing accommodation on a room and, at least, breakfast. Masoveria: Detached house, outside the settlement, rented in rural housing regime. Shared village house: Family house in the centre village, shared by the holder and users, providing accommodation on a room and, at least, breakfast. Independent village house: Family house in centre village, where the accommodation service in rural housing regime is provided. From the nineties rural tourism goes off and starts an uninterrupted growth in number of establishments and capacity, accentuated from 2000, with a maximum growth within 2001 and 2006. In five years the offer doubles. From the beginning of 2007, a slowdown in the growth of supply is detected. In absolute figures Catalonia goes from 109 establishments in 1990 to 1,777 with a capacity of 13,629 users at the end of 2007. During this period we can say that Catalonia experienced an explosion of rural tourism as a result of the first phase of growth of a new product, unknown to most Catalans. The current census of Catalonia in late 2013 set at 2,236 the number of establishments and 17,685 the number of users. Decree 183/2010 adopted by the Catalan Parliament in 2010, compiling mainly the characteristics and regulatory requirements laid down by this type of tourist accommodation, reflects a philosophy of tourism based on regional proximity and authenticity of supply, a fact which requires to ensure personal attention and a direct and close relationship between the individual owner of the establishment and clientele. Finally it is approved, and currently in force, Decree 159/2012 of November 20, on tourist accommodation establishments and homes for tourist use, where several modifications are made regulating rural tourism, which aim remove barriers to activity, while