However, the most interesting elements of this ensemble are the library and the archive, which are ranked amongst the best in Spain. The medieval archive is composed of Galician and Bullarium cartularies as well as over three hundred original documents. The library remains furnished as it was during the late 18th century. It is an outstanding assemblage of documents and books not because of the volume of its content of over ten thousand copies, but for the rarity of some of them. One of these rarities is the Evangeliary of Jeronimo Nadal, printed in Antwerp in 1595. This rare book is exceptional not only for the uniqueness of the printed edition but also because every sheet is polychrome decorated.
It is in this historically rich setting that the European Heritage Training Course will take place, amongst the treasures of a monasterial world that echoes from the Middle Ages into our days through the vestiges found in this exceptional cultural site.
The ensemble of Yuso Monastery does not only consist of the religious buildings themselves. It also comprises a variety of buildings and smaller units which give testimony of the fact, that monasteries were not only places for religious life, but also economical centres which had relevance for the whole region. The ensemble includes till today numerous stables, barns and other agricultural buildings as well as components with special purposes such as vine cellars, a hole to storage ice, and others.
Beside the monastery itself the most impressive component of the monastery area is the historic wall which surrounds the monastery area and has a total length of several kilometres and a height from two to more than five metres. However, the wall is neglected and it is not included in visits or guided tours. Furthermore, it is understood by parts of the inhabitants of the village as a sign of division between the monastery and the village – what indeed had been its purpose in the past. A relevant problem is given by the fact that the wall has countless owners – every owner of a narrow strip of field or garden owns the related small section of the wall. For all these reasons considerable parts of the wall are endangered by lack of maintenance, vandalism and misuse.
The training course in 2022 will be a continuation of the work initiated by the training course in 2021. During the 2021 training course, those parts of the wall which are close to the natural environment – a section of almost two kilometres length – was successfully documented in detail. The task for the 2022 training course will continue the documentation of the more contested parts of the wall which are those that traverse the populated areas in the village. It is on these stretches of the wall where most of the alterations and damages have taken place and therefore more attention for its documentation needs to be placed on. The documentation will follow the standards of heritage documentation and will include photographic documentation, drawings and a verbal part.
The participants will work in groups, each of which will have two tasks; one task will be related to the original substance of the wall – as the foundation, the elevation, the top of the wall etc. –, and the other one related to the state of conservation and to problems as static- constructive problems, later interventions, degradation and similar aspects.
At the end a final documentation will be established which will serve as the base for later conservation interventions, but also as a tool to create awareness among the population how to avoid improper interventions resp. how to apply best conservation practices. On a more general level, the documentation should help to raise awareness about the wall among the public administration, the visitors and the local inhabitants and thus contribute in the mid- term to its appreciation, protection and conservation.
The documentation process will be led by a conservation specialist of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and a heritage conservation architect from the Association Meshtra – Traditional Knowledge and Crafts.
The training course will be completed by a rich educational programme about the documentation of historic structures, rural heritage in Spain, the Yuso and Suso Monasteries, the village San Millán de la Cogolla and other topics. A whole-day excursion throughout the region La Rioja will enable to get familiar with and to discuss about different intervention practices at heritage sites.
The training course was jointly organised by European Heritage Volunteers, Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla, the UNESCO Chair “Earthen architecture, building cultures and sustainable development” at the Polytechnic University of Valencia / Spain, and the Association Meshtra – Traditional Knowledge and Crafts.
