The President of the Consell Insular participates in an event at the Spanish Embassy in the United Kingdom.

The Consell Insular de Menorca and the Fundación Fomento del Turismo have promoted the island’s rich heritage at an event in London to attract British tourism in the off-season. The president of both institutions, Adolfo Vilafranca, took part in an event at the Spanish embassy in the UK on Wednesday night, 18 September. The evening was organised to secure funding to continue the rehabilitation of the building of the former military hospital on the Isla del Rey, as well as to raise awareness of Menorca’s heritage.

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Menorca promotes its British heritage in London

During the event, which was attended by more than a hundred people, Vilafranca highlighted the British legacy in Menorca. ‘Our heritage is linked to the different civilisations that have formed part of our island, and is a sample of our rich heritage, as well as our history. Menorca and the United Kingdom have maintained a historical link for more than three centuries, a relationship that unites us and has left its mark on our cultural, architectural, social and linguistic heritage,’ said the president of the Consell Insular de Menorca.

Vilafranca reflected on the economic and cultural growth in Menorca during the British domination of the 18th century through characters such as Richard Kane, and he used the military architecture of the period, such as the Isla del Rey and the Castell de Sant Felip.

He then broadened the focus to refer to all the possibilities that Menorca offers as a destination to be visited during all seasons. ‘Menorca’s historical heritage, beyond the British, is abundant and diverse. Without leaving the port of Maó, we have the Lazareto. In terms of heritage and culture, we can say that we are an open-air museum that can be visited all year round’, emphasised the president of the Consell Insular de Menorca, and went on to describe the most important features of the Talayotic culture that have been designated as World Heritage by Unesco.

‘The monuments of our Talayotic culture explain what civilisation was like 3,500 years ago. How our ancestors lived on an island, in harmony with nature and the landscape, making use of the natural resources available to them. This is the essence of Menorca. Our ancestors practised sustainability long before the concept existed. And we are proud of this fact. Everything is still perfectly integrated in a landscape that we have preserved for centuries. That is why we have also been a Biosphere Reserve for more than three decades’, added Vilafranca.

The president of the Consell Insular de Menorca linked these heritage legacies with the current cultural agenda, with consolidated music events, such as the Menorcan Opera Foundation’s opera season, and with a multitude of spaces dedicated to contemporary art. Likewise, he emphasised the sports agenda, giving as an example the recent Copa del Rey de Barcos de Epoca (King’s Cup for Vintage Boats) held a few weeks ago, with its epicentre in the port of Maó.

Finally, he referred to the gastronomic possibilities of Menorca, a European Region of Gastronomy, with a culinary tradition linked to produce, and reiterated the relationship between the United Kingdom and Menorca. ‘We believe that to celebrate this link is to recognise the richness of our past and look to our future’, he concluded.

The event was attended by around a hundred people, including volunteers from the Isla del Rey Hospital Foundation. In addition to the president of the Consell Insular de Menorca, other speakers included the Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom, José Pascual Marco; the director of the OTS in London, Manuel Butler; the president of the Isla del Rey Hospital Foundation, Luis Alejandre, and the architect who drafted the preliminary project for the renovation of the Isla del Rey Hospital’s Warren Building, Javier Bardón.

Preliminary project for the refurbishment of the Warren Building

The preliminary project for the reconstruction of the ‘Warren Building’ at the King’s Island Hospital presented to the United Kingdom embassy plans for a building attached to the existing Hospital complex. It would be located on the site of an earlier building, which no longer exists, and which completed the Hospital complex. The planned building would recover the previous volume to house an area for congresses, conventions and complementary uses. The building would have a built surface area of 354.23 m², distributed in 197.44 m² on the ground floor and 156.79 m² on the first floor.