Talavera de la Reina (Toledo).- The delegate of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, thanked today in Talavera de la Reina the visit of the minister Ernest Urtasun to see how the Old Bridge of Talavera has been left after one of his eyes collapsed at the beginning of Sunday due to the strong flood of the Tagus River.
Milagros Tolón stressed that “today we are here from the point of view of recovery. And as the Minister of Culture has said, the recovery of the bridge is from the first moment on the agenda of the Government of Spain, as is Castilla-La Mancha and the province of Toledo. It is the importance of coordination between public administrations, in this case the Government of Spain led by Pedro Sánchez, the Board of Communities and the City of Talavera. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with the mayor on several occasions and I told him that the Government of Spain was going to be present not only in the emergency of these days, but also in the recovery.”
Minister Ernest Urtasun announced that this Wednesday “a direct aid of 2% Cultural for the reconstruction of the bridge will be approved as a matter of urgency. This is the first time it has been done, allocating 2% funds to an emergency.”
Integral recovery
The Ministry of Culture has made available to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha the necessary technical support for the work of evaluation of the damages caused in the Old Bridge of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo) by the flood of the Tagus River and the future integral recovery of this monument, declared Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), in the category of Monument, in 2021.
Both the diagnosis and the actions will be articulated within the framework of the National Plan of Risk Management and Emergencies in Cultural Heritage, under the coordination of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, and in permanent collaboration with the experts of the autonomous community in matters of historical heritage.
In addition, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) have agreed on an emergency intervention to repair the material damage caused by this storm. This action will be carried out with part of the funds of the 2% cultural of MITECO, for which an urgent meeting of the joint commission between the two ministries will be convened. The 2% Cultural is the main tool of the General Administration of the State to guarantee the conservation of the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of Spain. For the approval and follow-up of the actions included in this program, MITECO signed in 2021 an agreement with the Ministry of Culture to constitute a Joint Commission. Since then, both ministries have jointly reviewed and approved all projects eligible for funding from these funds. With this coordinated action of MITECO and the Ministry of Culture, the Government of Spain once again expresses its commitment to the conservation of the hydraulic heritage and the recognition of the importance of its symbolic and identity for society.