The group considers the use and meaning of the vestiges of the past in the Valencian Community in medieval and modern times. Artistic heritage is studied as the result of decisions that involve destruction, restoration, reuse and conscious interventions over time and reveal, in turn, changing attitudes and values, precise interests and manifest or latent intentions. The study of the past from the vestiges of other eras (ruins, spolia, relics, monuments, public inscriptions), the elaboration of a history of local and regional art, the longing for a glorious past and the construction of an identity somewhere between memory and oblivion are some of the main European cultural currents of these periods and had lasting consequences on the History of Art as a discipline and on the constitution of its own object of study. A certain image of the past emerges from travel literature, written testimonies of festivals and public celebrations, urban iconography and vernacular antiquarian interests. The images, perceptions and values attributed to the vestiges of the past can be studied by considering not only these documentary records but also the practices of conservation and reuse from the Middle Ages to the 20th century in the Valencian Community. Such interests, intentions and conservation/destruction practices will be compared with those observed in other European regions and cities in order to identify similarities and differences with the Valencian case in the late Middle Ages and the Modern Age. A systematic study of these practices, meanings and attitudes towards the material remains of the past has not yet been completed and constitutes the main objective of this research group, based on sources such as images, archaeological testimonies, travel books, historiography and any type of documentary record of the appreciation, suppression and conservation of objects and monuments from earlier times. Subsequently, the conclusions reached in this study would contribute to a better knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritage in the Valencian Community as it has been constituted since medieval and modern times. 

The group aims to analyse in particular the changing constitution of the Valencian identity from the selection of the vestiges in its complex formation, with the comparative purpose of considering its singularity or its similarities with those of the rest of the territories of the Crown of Aragon, Spain or Europe. 

This objective is achieved by approaching the processes of identity construction not as an imposed destiny, through a generally contemporary elaboration, but in its polyhedral evolutionary complexity, with contradictory and zigzagging possibilities. In short, the aim is to consider in an integrated manner a policy of the image in the visual arts and architecture that encompasses not only the specific circumstances of its production, but also its evolution and reception over time in the sphere of the former Kingdom of Valencia in the foral period up to the present-day Valencian Community. Ultimately, the aim is also to contribute to a more integrated cultural vision of Valencian history and art through its artistic heritage, analysing the construction of this collective identity and incorporating the Islamic, Mudejar and Moorish legacy and the Sephardic memory with a view to contemporary society and its intercultural nature in today's globalised world.

Collaborator:

Marín Nieto, Néstor.

Olucha Feliu, Néstor.

University education