If there is an outstanding example of Islamic culture and Nasrid architecture on the Iberian Peninsula, it is the unique Alhambra and Generalife gardens. This palace complex was a fortified country residence for the dynasty that ruled here between the 13th and 15th centuries: a magnificent instance of Hispano-Muslim civil architecture. On the hill opposite is the Albaicín, a neighbourhood that has preserved much of its original appearance. Its centuries-old homes and other structures, such as the medieval wall and portals like the Elvira Gate, offer a harmonious whole. The Albaicín was home to the court of the Zirid Dynasty in the 11th century and was one of the last refuges for Muslims after they were officially expelled from Granada.

The magnificent Mosque of Cordoba was built over a former Visigothic basilica. Its construction bears witness to the great technical knowledge and problem-solving skills of that time. Cordoba’s old quarter is one of the largest in Europe; a walk around it, starting in the winding streets of San Basilio, offers a glimpse of important monuments such as the Roman Bridge over the River Guadalquivir, the Calahorra Tower, the Synagogue, the Caliphal Baths, the Téllez Baths and others. As well as its impressive monuments, here it is possible to appreciate traditional Cordoba residential architecture, including the famous casa patio homes with their courtyards.

This emblem of Spanish Gothic architecture, whose construction lasted four centuries, was built to replace an earlier Romanesque cathedral. The intention was to give Burgos, then the capital of the Kingdom of Castile, the importance it deserved. Two phases of the building project stand out: the classical Gothic style of the 13th and 14th centuries, and the flamboyant Gothic style. Three of the most important parts of this monument are the Chapel of the Constables, the cathedral’s bristling needles and its lantern tower. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1984 because of its outstanding architectural significance, as well as for the masterpieces to be found inside, such as the Golden Stairway and the Gothic choir, and outside, such as the Puerta del Perdón doorway in the building’s main façade.

To mention Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) is to say the name of the greatest practitioner of Modernism in Spain. He gave his architecture and art an unmistakable personality and sophistication, making each and every one of his works a unique expression. In his view, art, form and decoration are part of the same and his style is characterised by its undulating curves and the presence of sculptural animals and vegetation. In 1984 and 2005, UNESCO recognised seven of his creations in Catalonia as World Heritage Sites: Park Güell, Güell Palace, Casa Milá, Casa Vicens, the crypt and Nativity façade of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló and the crypt of the Colònia Güell.

This impressive monument, located in the Guadarrama Mountains and surrounded by forest, was Philip II’s refuge. It was built in the late 16th Century to commemorate the Battle of San Quintín and was originally planned as a family burial place for royalty which required a religious site. The Escorial complex includes the royal palace, the royal burial chamber, a basilica, a wonderful library and an art gallery with works from the royal collections. The architects were Juan Bautista de Toledo, once assistant to Michelangelo, and Juan de Herrera. Apart from the main buildings, the property also includes the Casas de Oficios and Casa de la Compaña, the Lonja, and the Casita del Príncipe and Casita del Infante summer residences, surrounded by gardens.

Avila, founded in the 11th century, has one of the best preserved medieval walls in the world. Its historical centre includes a wealth of civil and religious buildings, offering a medieval town in an almost intact state. The impressive appearance of its walls, built to defend the city from Muslim armies, is added to by its nine gates and 83 semi-circular towers. This city, the birthplace of St Theresa of Jesus, is World Heritage for these reasons, and for its 12th-century Romanesque churches and monasteries found outside the old walls, including the churches of San Segundo, San Andrés, San Vicente, San Pedro and Santiago.

The discovery, in the 9th century, of the tomb of the apostle St James turned this Galician settlement into an important pilgrimage destination. From then on, the town experienced tremendous development and became a major centre for cultural and human exchange. It is one of Europe’s most important cities in terms of its artistic heritage, preserving Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Neo-classical buildings. The cathedral, including the famous Pórtico de la Gloria doorway and the apostle’s tomb, and the old quarter, make this a truly beautiful city.

The Aqueduct of Segovia is not only Spain’s most important work of Roman civil engineering, but also the symbol of the city that houses it. This wonderfully preserved monument runs for almost 15 kilometres and its 20,400 stone blocks are unmortared, stacked one on top of another. Today, the route runs through the city and its cluster of medieval streets. Other outstanding monuments include the 11th century Alcázar, the 16th century Gothic cathedral, Romanesque churches such as San Juan de los Caballeros, San Lorenzo and the Church of the Vera Cruz, as well as civil structures including arcades, doorways and courtyards.

Asturias was the last Christian stronghold against the Moorish invasions of the 9th century. At that time it developed an architectural style, now known as the pre-Romanesque, which was one of the precursors of the style that would later dominate religious buildings in the iberian peninsula. María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, Santa Cristina de Lena, San Julián de los Prados, the Cámara Santa of the Cathedral of San Salvador and the sophisticated work of hydraulic engineering known as La Foncalada are some of the monuments selected by UNESCO, and whose architectural style is rooted in the landscape here.

The discovery of the Cave of Altamira, sometimes known as the Sistine Chapel of Palaeolithic art, set off a revolution in 19th-century scientific thinking, transforming our understanding of our prehistoric ancestors. Previously considered savages, the paintings revealed them to be imaginative and sensitive beings.

The caves of northern Spain have on their walls some of the finest examples of Palaeolithic rock art created between 35,000 and 11,000 BC, thanks to their great quality, excellent state of conservation and vivid colours. Altamira was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The extension of 2005 included another 17 examples of cave art found inside.

Caceres is a visual reflection of the mixture of architectural traditions here, after centuries of cultural and religious confrontation. Its old town offers a great variety of styles, making it one of the world’s most unique medieval and Renaissance urban complexes, as well as a particularly attractive place to be. No less than 30 towers still survive from Islamic times, of which the Bujaco Tower is perhaps the best known. The various wars that took place here have given a defensive look to many of its buildings, which reflect the most diverse architectural influences and styles. All of this makes Caceres an extraordinary example of cultural confluence.

A visit to Merida is an excellent way to find out how life was in a provincial capital during imperial Roman times. This vast archaeological site is one of Spain’s largest. The city of Augusta Emerita was founded by the Emperor Augustus in 25 BC. Monuments from that period which still stand include the theatre, amphitheatre, circus, the Los Milagros Aqueduct, the Proserpina Reservoir and the bridge over the River Guadiana. Its splendour lasted until the 5th century, into the Visigothic period, when it became one of the most important cities on the peninsula and a major archiepiscopal see.

Two thousand years of history can be found in the streets of Toledo. It was a Roman town, the capital of the Visigothic kingdom, a strategic site within the Emirate of Cordoba and a vital fortress for the Christians in their fight against the Muslims. The many cultures that have been present here make the city a symbol of harmonious existence and cultural enrichment whose important Jewish, Christian and Islamic works mean it is often known as the City of the Three Cultures. It was here that Alfonso X created the Toledo Translators’ School in the 13th century. The city’s impressive beauty and mixture of cultures have attracted great artists such as El Greco and the German writer Rainer Maria Rilke.

This national park is lucky to have survived at all: it is one of the few remaining examples of Tertiary Forest in the entire world, from the geological period that began 65 million years ago and ended 2.6 million years ago. Three-quarters of the surface of the Garajonay Park is covered with laurel forest, which is now rare in southern Europe. The park has a wealth of springs and streams, and is home to around 1,000 species of invertebrates of which 150 are endemic to the area. The island of La Gomera also has ancient cultural heritage, including Silbo Gomero, a language of whistling sounds that the island’s inhabitants use to communicate across the narrow valleys of the island.

Mudejar architecture is a style that developed in Aragon between the 12th and 17th centuries. This style is quite unique and was created through contributions from the Islamic, Jewish and Christian cultures, and is thus an example of peace and respect among peoples. It is characterized by its use of economic materials and adornments of glazed ceramic. The Mudejar architecture of Aragon, specifically the towers, churches and cathedral of Teruel, were included on the list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Other buildings, including religious and secular constructions in Zaragoza and the apse, cloister and tower of the collegiate church of Santa María in Calatayud, were added to the list in 2001.

Although they date from very different periods and have been significantly modified over time, these three monuments have a close connection with the discovery of America in 1492. The Archive of the Indies, located in a former exchange building designed by Juan de Herrera, has around 43,000 files containing the historical and diplomatic documents relating to the former Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. The Real Alcázar palace is the city’s oldest civil monument. This group of buildings meld together the Islamic style of the Giralda Tower with the Gothic of Seville Cathedral, Europe’s largest religious building in this style.

Salamanca is practically a synonym for learning, and it has been so for centuries. This Renaissance city was one of the cradles of modern thought. Its architecture shows a wealth of different styles, from the Romanesque of the Old Cathedral to the Plateresque of the university façade. Its old town is a rare and important focus of Churrigueresque (late baroque style) works, and its Plaza Mayor is a fine example of a Baroque city square. Salamanca University is Spain’s oldest active university, created in 1218 by Alfonso IX of Leon. University students and teachers have included major figures such as Fernando de Rojas, Fray Luis de León and Miguel de Unamuno.

The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Poblet is one of the world’s largest and most complete Cistercian abbeys. The inspiration behind its founding came from the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV. In the late Middle Ages, the area rose in importance with the repopulation of Catalunya Nova by the Crown of Aragon, making the monastery a major centre and in the 14th century the monastery became the official burial site of the Crown of Aragon. Over the centuries, Poblet has been important in many ways: art, culture and spirituality. It has been almost continually used as a monastery, which has helped to preserve the site.

Over the centuries thousands of pilgrims have followed the Camino, the road to Santiago de Compostela, the city where, according to tradition, the apostle St James is buried. The pilgrim routes have a splendid artistic and cultural legacy, and trade and ideas travelled along those routes making them symbolic spaces of solidarity and personal enrichment, as well as of the cultural identity of the areas the routes pass through. These trails include 1,800 buildings of historical interest and hundreds of sites of natural interest. In 1993, the French Route was listed as a World Heritage Site, and this was extended in 2015 to another four stretches: the Camino Primitivo, the Camino Lebaniego, the Coastal Route and the Inland Route.

This magnificent monastery represents four centuries of religious construction in Spain. Its architecture and sculpture are fine examples of the Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles. This religious institution was also a residence favoured by sovereigns, including the Catholic Monarchs, and is famous as the place where they received Christopher Columbus and where he returned to give thanks after his first trip to the Americas. The monastery complex has not only been a major religious centre but also a cultural one, housing an important medical school, a hospital, a scriptorium and a library. Its collection of paintings is a notable one and includes work by artists such as Luca Giordano, Francisco de Zurbarán and Vicente Carducho.

The Doñana National Park is the largest ecological reserve in Europe, with a protected area of 54,252 ha. The combined movement of continental and marine influence has created a range of habitats and ecosystems here. It is home to, or acts as wintering ground for many bird species, including five in danger of extinction. It also hosts Iberian lynxes (the world’s most endangered big cat) which are conserved through a breeding programme. Along the right bank of the Guadalquivir Estuary there are lagoons, marshes and dunes, and this is also the place where the popular El Rocío procession and pilgrimage takes place.

Cuenca, surrounded by the Cuenca Mountains Natural Park, one of Spain’s most extensive forest zones, is a medieval walled town whose streets and buildings are largely unchanged since that time. Founded by Muslims, in the 12th century it passed into Christian hands and became an episcopal see. The cathedral, Spain’s first in the Gothic style, dates from this time, as do the city’s famous Hanging Houses: suspended from the rocks above the River Huécar, they have become a symbol of the city. Cuenca has many outstanding religious and civil buildings such as the cathedral, its convents and monasteries and the San Pablo Bridge.

The silk trade helped to make the city of Valencia a trading powerhouse for centuries. In the time of Al-Andalus it was already famous for its silk workshops, known as alcaicerías, and at one time had 3,800 mills. The Lonja de los Mercaderes silk exchange is a masterpiece of European civil Gothic. Located in the historical centre of Valencia, it demonstrates all the cultural and mercantile riches of this city in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Barcelona sought a regional identity that would differentiate it from other cities, and it found it in its own version of Art Nouveau, characterized by a mixture of medieval historicism and natural themes. The city’s wealthy bourgeoisie offered the patronage for major architectural works including the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall with its great walls of glass, mosaics, sculptures and wrought iron; and the Hospital de Sant Pau, which was created in a mixture of styles. The architect behind these buildings was Lluís Domènech i Montaner who, together with Gaudí, were the leading beacons of Catalan Art Nouveau.

The cultural importance of Suso is made clear by the many manuscripts and codices that were created in its scriptorium, one of the most important in medieval Spain. These include a valuable copy of the Commentary on the Apocalypse of Beatus of Liébana (8th century). Another book from the scriptorium has annotations written in the 11th century which experts have identified as the first written signs of medieval Spanish, leading to this site being referred to as the cradle of the Spanish language. The heritage site includes the two monasteries known as San Millán de Suso (“above”) and San Millán de Yuso (“below”). The two monastic complexes show architecture of Visigothic, Mozarabic, Romanesque and Baroque styles. The library at Yuso has a remarkable collection of around ten thousand old books.

In the district of Bierzo in Leon Province are the remains of the largest opencast gold mine in the Roman Empire. This cultural landscape is an extraordinarily beautiful place where it is still possible to see the traces of human activity, which have shaped the land by extracting the precious metal. The mine was very important to the Romans and it had considerable impact on the economic and cultural development of the area. The method used to extract the gold was what Pliny the Elder called ruina montium, and consisted of using water pressure to carry parts of the mountain down to washing areas.

Located in the Central Pyrenees, Monte Perdido is the highest limestone peak in Europe. This natural splendour together with a landscape shaped by humans, makes for a valuable symbol of European mountain society. In its declaration of the site as World Heritage, UNESCO states that “this place is also a pastoral landscape that reflects a form of farming life which, in the past was extensive in Europe’s highlands, and which currently survives in this part of the Pyrenees”. Pyrenees–Monte Perdido is considered “a living evolutionary cultural landscape”, in which the communities living on both slopes have established a peaceful social and political organization based on the prudent management of pasture.

These nine Romanesque churches, located in the High Pyrenees of Alta Ribagorça (Lleida), were declared World Heritage Sites considered remarkable exemplars of the pure Romanesque style, a product of the great cultural exchanges of medieval Europe especially across the mountainous barrier of the Pyrenees. One of the most significant values to highlight regarding these churches are their homogeneity. The group is an outstanding example of Catalan Romanesque, with large bell towers built from local materials such as stone, slate and wood. These artistic ensembles have some of the finest examples of sculpture and mural painting of the period in Europe.

The walls of Lugo surround the historical city and are a perfect example of military fortification in the late Roman Empire in Europe. Dating from the second half of the 3rd century, it is the only fully enclosed Roman wall in the world and the best preserved ancient fortification in Spain, given that its original appearance has hardly changed. It was constructed according to the design of the Roman engineer, Vitrubius. These defences, built of granite, slate and mortar, run for over two kilometres and are flanked by 85 impressive towers. In the 16th century, the city was growing and homes were built along stretches of the wall’s exterior showing that the wall’s presence has shaped the evolution of Lugo’s urban development.

The city of Elche is home to Europe’s largest palm grove. With its 200,000 palm trees, it still boasts the complex irrigation system built by the Muslims in the 8th century, the only example of this Islamic farming technique in Europe. This space constitutes an extraordinary example of sustainability in the agricultural development of fragile ecosystems. The palm grove is also a site where ancient professions are still practiced, including the palma blanca method of collecting and creating palm fronds. These branches undergo a laborious natural bleaching and weaving process for their use in the religious rites of Palm Sunday.

The site of Atapuerca in Burgos, has yielded fossilized remains of Europe’s first humans revolutionising our understanding of human evolution. Some of these remains go back almost a million years and have exceptional value for the study of archaeology and palaeoanthropology, acting as a reservoir of invaluable information about the physical nature and ways of life of the earliest human communities.

Major discoveries have been made here, including skull number 5, from a Homo Heidelbergensis, and the finding of human DNA that is around 400,000 years old. For these reasons, Atapuerca represents historical and cultural heritage of the highest level.

This group of historical buildings and landscaped terrain is made up of the Royal Palace and the Jardín de la Isla gardens, the urban centre –laid out along geometrical principles– and the Jardín del Príncipe park. As well as this area, Aranjuez also has historical vegetable gardens, tree-lined avenues and the Reserva del Regajal-Mar de Ontígola protected area, which includes an important butterfly reserve. It is one of the finest Baroque cities in Spain and a wonderful combination of royal and civil constructions together with gardens in the French tradition. In December 2001, UNESCO recognized Aranjuez as an ideal symbiosis between nature and human intervention creating unique landscape conditions; it was the first cultural landscape in Spain on the World Heritage list.

Founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499, the Universidad Cisneriana Complutense was the first development especially designed and constructed as the seat of a university a plan that has acted as a model for other teaching centres in Europe and the Americas. This city has been home to many brilliant minds over the centuries including many writers whose works have contributed so much to the Spanish language, including writers of the stature of Miguel de Cervantes. The university’s golden age was during the early period of the printing press and important works such as the Bible Biblia Políglota Complutense were published here. In 1836 the university moved to Madrid returning to the city in 1976. Since then its historical heritage has been restored to its original splendour.

What was once the Roman Hispania still offers a vast legacy of this ancient culture and one of the finest examples is Tarraco, now known as Tarragona. This was the capital of the province of Hispania Citerior from the time of the Emperor Augustus and the city still follows the Roman plan along artificial terraces that follow the natural slopes of the terrain. This, together with the number and quality of the city’s Roman monuments make it a unique and universal world heritage site. Its amphitheatre, the aqueduct, the theatre and the city walls acted as showcases for other cities in the Roman Empire. Originally founded as a military camp, Tarraco prospered due to its coastal location and its favourable site with respect to the interior of the peninsula and this prosperity is reflected in the architecture, mosaics and paintings that can still be seen today.

The Mediterranean arc of Spain has an extensive concentration of sites with cave art, a unique cultural expression of the post-Palaeolithic prehistoric society that lived in the hills and mountains of the east of the iberian peninsula. This group includes 750 sites which give us an exceptional glimpse of daily life in the Mesolithic and Neolithic, periods that were so formative for humanity’s cultural evolution. The quality of these examples, their uniqueness and value as artistic-documentary testimony to the culture and development of the period give this large group great importance.

In Úbeda and Baeza, the Renaissance style of the 16th century and the humanist spirit that originated in Italy overlap with the Islamic (9th century) and Reconquest (13th century) heritage of these two towns in Jaen Province located nine kilometres from each other. The Renaissance period can be seen in the layout of the streets and in buildings of great architectural importance, such as the Hospital de Santiago and the Church of Santa María de los Reales Alcázares in Úbeda; and the university and Palace of Jabalquinto in Baeza. This style of architecture, particularly its religious version, was exported to places elsewhere in Spain and in the Americas. Each in its own way, these two towns bear witness to the Hispanic-Muslim and Christian past of this area.

One of the finest examples of European megalithic art is to be found in southern Andalusia. The Dolmens of Antequera are a group of three megalithic monuments: the Dolmen of Menga, the Dolmen of Viera and the Tholos of El Romeral; and two natural monuments: the Peña de los Enamorados hill and the Torcal de Antequera. Built during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, the three funerary monuments are surrounded by their original burial mounds and two are roofed with lintels (Menga and Viera) and the other with a false dome (El Romeral); apart from funerary use, they have also acted as ritual sites. This is one of the first conscious integrations of monumental architecture and landscape in prehistoric Europe.

The rock art sites of the Côa Valley (northern Portugal) were registered as World Heritage in 1998, a declaration that was extended in 2010 to the expressions of Palaeolithic rock art of the Siega Verde (Castile and Leon), as exceptional and early examples of symbolic creation and the beginnings of human cultural development. The petroglyphs date from the Upper Palaeolithic and include representations of animals and geometric figures. It is estimated that there are over a thousand figures present here, including images of species such as aurochs, horses, mountain goat and deer. These outstanding examples of the first artistic creations of homo sapiens allow us to see aspects of the social, economic and spiritual relations of our early ancestors.

One of the most extensive sites in existence, this protected area covers 63 sites in 12 countries. The European beech forests, examples of the continuous post-glacial biological and ecological evolution of the Earth’s ecosystems, spread after the end of the last Ice Age. They started from a few isolated refuges in the Alps, Carpathians, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, and advanced in a process that is still underway. During the last extension of this site, UNESCO included the Spanish beech woods of Tejera Negra, Hayedo de Montejo, Lizardoia, Aztaparret, Hayedo de Cuesta Fría and Canal de Asotín as worthy of special protection.

The World Heritage declaration for the island of Ibiza recognizes the importance of the historical traces left by the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and early modern people. It includes the Phoenician site of Sa Caleta; the necropolis of Puig des Molins, the oldest and most important in Ibiza and which has yielded numerous remains from the Phoenician-Punic city of Ebusus; the old hill town of Dalt Vila, or Ibiza Town, a fine example of early modern military architecture; and the island’s marine ecosystem, one of the Mediterranean’s most important, with over 200 different species. The islands of Ibiza and Formentera offer unique examples of the interaction between marine and coastal ecosystems. The posidonia oceanica (Neptune grass) of the natural reserve has been defined as the best preserved of the Mediterranean basin. This close link between the sea and the cultural landscape has been crucial in the declaration of this mixed heritage.

This architectural gem reflects the industrial and seafaring character of the Basque Country. This prime example of metal architecture of the Industrial Revolution period inspired the construction of similar structures in Europe, Africa and the Americas. This spectacular iron bridge, 45 metres high and 160 long, was inaugurated in 1893 designed by the Biscay engineer Alberto Palacio y Elissague, who learned from Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower. The bridge links the neighbourhood of Las Arenas with the town of Portugalete and it was the world’s first transporter bridge. Today it is the best preserved of all those still standing and the only one still in use. UNESCO has highlighted its perfect combination of beauty aesthetics and functionality and the influence its technology had on the construction of other 19th-century bridges.

La Laguna, in northern Tenerife, is an archetypical example of an unwalled colonial city, a city-territory designed and built according to a plan that was inspired by navigational principles, the great science of that period. Furthermore, it is an urban layout that was exported to Latin America: its grid pattern considered to be the most immediate predecessor of the pattern used for cities such as Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), Havana (Cuba), Lima and Trujillo (Peru). The original layout of La Laguna has remained intact since it was created and coincides with the heritage site with its 627 buildings. The city is a living example of the mutual influence of European and American culture with which the city has kept up close links. Its churches, convents and civil architecture are outstanding examples of this exchange which has lasted almost four centuries.

UNESCO has recognized the El Teide National Park and its volcano as “one of the places that is richest and most diverse in terms of volcanic landscapes and spectacular natural values in the whole world.” It is the largest and oldest of the national parks on the Canary Islands and the third oldest in Spain. It has great biological interest including many endemic plant species and a number of invertebrate animals that are unique to the area. This mountain was of great spiritual value for the aboriginal Guanches and, as well as a religious site, it acted as an essential grazing resource at certain times of the year. It is now home to important archaeological sites. There is a major international volcanology centre located here since the mountain’s particular morphology and makeup offer insight into the geological processes that form oceanic volcanic islands.

Its light first guided sailors in the 1st century when its name was Farum Brigantium. The Corunna lighthouse is the only Roman example in existence, and the oldest working lighthouse. It is a living testament to the navigation systems of antiquity and its presence is an indication of the development of Atlantic sea routes in Europe from Roman times and the medieval period through to modern times. This cuadrangular tower is of the neoclassical style on the outside and roman style on the inside. It measures almost 57 metres high from the ground of which 37.6 metres are of Roman construction built to very high standards. This structure is divided into three levels and each one of these is made up of four vaulted chambers.

The difference between the coast and the mountains means little in the Serra de Tramuntana range. The northwest coast of Mallorca has a system of mountains that comes down to the sea offering a spectacular contrast between precipitous slopes, sinuous roads, beautiful towns and concealed coves. Its hills are marked out by terraced fields and have irrigation mechanisms such as hydraulic mills and unmortared stone constructions. This system of feudal origin helped to spread agriculture in an area with scarce water resources and today makes for endless picturesque views. UNESCO’s declaration places special emphasis on the relationship between humans and nature. In this limestone landscape humans have adapted to its natural resources creating a living environment.

The mines of Almadén and Idrija represent the greatest mercury deposits in the world as well as the most important collections of technology related to the extraction of this metal that have survived. Both sites bear witness to the intercontinental trade in mercury once known as “quicksilver”. The importance of these two sites lies not only in the material extracted but also in the key role that mercury played in obtaining silver from the raw mineral and which was used from the 16th century in the mines of the Americas. These mines were a link between the two continents favouring economic, technological and cultural exchange, and demonstrating the complementarity of the supply of mercury to the Americas which took place during the early modern period.

A recent addition to the World Heritage list, this site’s fame comes after a millennium of oblivion. Medina Azahara famous for its former beauty and display of power was built by Abd al-Rahman III in 936 AD, who chose an unparalleled spot in the Guadalquivir Valley at the foot of the Sierra Morena hills. This city-palace was the symbol of the power of the Umayyad dynasty and it acted as an administrative capital as well as a residence for the Caliph of Cordoba. Ransacked during the civil war of succession of 1009-1010 which ended the power of the caliphs, the city’s remains were buried until their rediscovery in the first third of the 20th century. This archaeological site includes the splendid ruins of the palace city, including buildings, roads, bridges, hydraulic systems... Crucial for anyone interested in understanding Spain’s Islamic past.

The cauldron of Tejeda, in the heart of Gran Canaria’s island, covers over 1,500 caves, a thousand cave paintings and the remains of shrines, fortified granaries, a necropolis and a troglodyte settlement. They are a legacy of the amazigh culture, a group of settlers that arrived from the north of Africa leading to a unique process of isolated evolution which lasted for almost 1,500 years until the crown of Castille arrived to the islands in the 15th Century. The traditions of these primitive communities live on here forming a perfect symbiosis between human beings and nature, the sky and astronomy, to which they conferred a sacred veneration.