Collaborative space

The first monumental catalogue of Spain, a century later

Following the Royal Decree of 1 June 1900, “the complete and systematic cataloguing of the nation’s historical or artistic heritage was ordered”. To carry this out, the task of compiling inventories by province was entrusted to various individuals. The province of Valencia was assigned to Manuel González Simancas on 1 April 1909. The final work was delivered in 1919 and presented in two volumes, comprising text and photographs. The project for this first monumental catalogue of Spain was not completed until 1961. Some of these volumes were published gradually, while others remained unpublished, as was the case for the three Valencian provinces.

This map presents a selection of some of the assets included in the catalogue for the province of Valencia. Each point provides access to a record for the item, showing a diachronic overview of its assessment and management as a cultural asset. This includes attention to the attribution of values and meanings, or their absence, which have led to its disappearance, preservation, legal protection, destruction, or transformation.

This work has been developed collaboratively by students enrolled in the third-year course History and Management of Artistic Heritage within the BA in Art History at the Universitat de València, under the coordination of their lecturers Luis Arciniega García and Adrià Besó Ros. It forms part of the emerging educational innovation project “Tic-art: Information and Communication Technologies applied to the knowledge and dissemination of Art History, landscape and Valencian cultural heritage” (PIEE-3901458), which has received support from the Vice-Rectorate for Lifelong Learning, Teaching Transformation and Employment in the 2025–26 call.