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UNESCO World Heritage: Valencian Community

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The Valencian Community has three world heritage sites, two which are exclusive of the area while the other one is shared between other autonomous communities.

La Lonja de la Seda (Valencia)

Type: Cultural

Built between 1482 and 1533, thiegroup of buildings making up La Lonja de la Seda was originally used for trading in silk (hence its name) and it has always been a centre for commerce. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The grandiose Sala de Contratación (Contract or Trading Hall), in particular, illustrates the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Palmeral of Elche (Alicante)

Type: Cultural

The Palmeral of Elche, a landscape of groves of date palms, was formally laid out, with elaborate irrigation systems, at the time the Muslim city of Elche was erected, towards the end of the tenth century A.C., when much of the Iberian peninsula was Arab. The Palmeral is an oasis, a system for agrarian production in arid areas. It is also a unique example of Arab agricultural practices on the European continent. Cultivation of date palms in Elche is known at least since the Iberian times, dating around the fifth century B.C. The ancient irrigation system, which is still functioning, is of special interest.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin in the Iberian Peninsula (Alicante, Castellón and Valencia, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).

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UNESCO World Heritage: Region of Murcia

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Murcia has one shared world heritage site.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin in the Iberian Peninsula (shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).

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UNESCO World Heritage: La Rioja

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La Rioja has two world heritage sites. One of them is exclusive and the other one is shared.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

San Millan Yuso and Suso Monasteries

Type: Cultural

The monastic community founded by St Millán in the mid-6th century became a place of pilgrimage. A fine Romanesque church built in honour of the holy man still stands at the site of Suso. It was here that the first literature was produced in Castilian, from which one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today is derived. In the early 16th century the community was housed in the fine new monastery of Yuso, below the older complex; it is still a thriving community today.

The Monasteries of Suso and Yuso at San Millán de la Cogolla are exceptional testimony to the introduction and continuous survival of Christian monasticism, from the 6th century to the present day. 

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UNESCO World Heritage: Galicia

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Galicia has four world heritage sites, with three of them being exclusive of the area while the other one is shared between other autonomous communities.

Roman Walls of Lugo (Lugo)

Type: Cultural

Roman Walls of Lugo are an exceptional architectural, archaeological and constructive legacy of Roman engineering, dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The Walls are built of internal and external stone facings of slate with some granite, with a core filling of a conglomerate of slate slabs and worked stone pieces from Roman buildings, interlocked with lime mortar, and still contain 85 external towers, 10 gates (five of which are original and five that were opened in modern times), four staircases and two ramps providing access to the walkway along the top of the walls, one of which is internal and the other external. Each tower contained access stairs leading from the intervallum to the wall walk of town wall, of which a total of 21 have been discovered to date.

The defences of Lugo are the most complete and best preserved example of Roman military architecture in the Western Roman Empire.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

Santiago de Compostela, Old Town (A Coruña)

Type: Cultural

In the beginning of the 9th century, a hermit called Pelagius saw a mysterious light shining over a Roman tomb forgotten in the middle of a forest. Very soon, the incredible news spread all over the Christian world: the tomb of St. James the Greater, the beloved apostle of Jesus Christ, had been discovered in a far site near the finis terrae, the end of the known Earth, in the northwest of Iberian Peninsula. A few years later, this site became a famous pilgrimage town, one of the most important of Christianity. Pilgrims came from all over Europe following the Camino de Santiago to reach the city born around the Holy Tomb, exercising a great influence on the surrounding area. This is evidenced in the small towns, churches, hospitals, and monasteries that were built near the Camino to attend to the thousands of pilgrims who came to visit the tomb. This influence in the local architecture and art was especially strong and long-lasting in the north-west of Spain, but the fame and the reputation of the sanctuary of Santiago de Compostela went well beyond; Galicia was even known in the Nordic sagas as Jakobsland.

Tower of Hercules (A Coruña)

Type: Cultural

The Tower of Hercules is the only fully preserved Roman lighthouse that is still used for maritime signaling, hence it is testimony to the elaborate system of navigation in antiquity and it provides an understanding of the Atlantic sea route in Western Europe. The Tower of Hercules was restored in the 18th century in an exemplary manner, which has protected the central core of the original Roman monument while restoring its technical functions.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Extremadura

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Extremadura has three world heritage sites, all of which are exclusive of the area.

Archaeological Ensemble of Merida (Badajoz)

Type: Cultural

The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida has its origins in the year 25 BC, when Augustus completed the conquest of the North of Hispania and founded the Colony of Augusta Emerita. The city was created as an idealised model of Rome and was the capital of Lusitania, the western-most province of the Roman Empire. Following Diocletian’s reform, it functioned as the capital of the Diocese of Hispania. It was also temporarily the royal seat of two Germanic peoples - the Suebi and the Visigoths - and under the Arabic dominion, Mérida was one of the three border capitals of Al-Andalus, together with Toledo and Zaragoza, ensuring control of the western part of the Iberian peninsula.

Old Town of Cáceres (Cáceres)

Type: Cultural

Cáceres has been a trade route city and a political centre of the local nobles for many centuries. Since prehistoric times, people from different cultures have gathered in Cáceres and have shaped its strong historical roots. Pre-Roman settlements occupied the original plot followed by the Roman, Arab, Jewish and Christian people.

The influence and remains of these cultures can be observed and studied in the walled ensemble of Cáceres, with a wide typological and constructive variety ranging from popular architecture to palace-houses, with their characteristic sobriety and towers of the nobility of Gothic and Renaissance times. The city's history of battles between Moors and Christians is also reflected in the architecture, which is a blend of Roman, Islamic, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance styles.

Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe (Cáceres)

Type: Cultural

The town of Guadalupe, built around the Monastery, whose foundation dates back to 1337, offers in its medieval buildings a unique beauty that reflects the traditional architecture in an urban context. It is an exceptional example of an ensemble comprised of widely differing architectural styles, including in particular the 14th- to 15th-century Mudéjar church and cloister.

The site has played a leading role in the history of medieval and modern Spain, being linked to the Crown of Castile from the reign of Alfonso XI and the other Peninsular kingdoms – particularly after the conquest of Granada, which resulted in the unification of all territories, the emergence of the Modern State in Europe, the end of the period of the Reconquest, and the discovery of the New World. The monastery was also a leading cultural centre for workshops and scientific activity: a centre which spread knowledge of botany and medicine through the Medical School of Guadalupe, first mentioned in 1451, or through the School of Surgery. 

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UNESCO World Heritage: Community of Madrid

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Madrid has four world heritage sites, with three of them being exclusive of the area while the other one is shared between other autonomous communities.

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (shared with other autonomous communities and countries)

Type: Natural

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational composite nature encompassing forests in 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree’s adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

Aranjuez Cultural Landscape

Type: Cultural

The Aranjuez Cultural Landscape is a singular entity of complex and historic relationships between nature and human activity, the sinuous watercourses of the rivers and the geometrical design of the landscape, urban and rural life, and between the forest wildlife and the refined architecture.

Aranjuez bears witness to various cultural exchanges over a span of time that had a significant influence in the development of its landmarks and the creation of its landscape, thereby becoming a model for its culture's use of its territory.

Monastery and Site of the Escorial

Type: Cultural

Built at the end of the 16th century, the Escurial Monastery stands in an exceptionally beautiful site at the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, north of Madrid. It was the retreat of Philip II, and became in the last years of his reign the centre of the greatest political power of the time.

It was founded in 1563 as a votive monument and pantheon to the Spanish monarchs from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V onwards. Its design, which is complex yet also simple, was created by Juan Bautista de Toledo, Spanish pupil of Michelangelo during the works of the Vatican Basilica, and completed by Juan de Herrera after Toledo’s death.

University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares

Type: Cultural

University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares includes a magnificent complex of historic buildings, such as the exceptional Colegio Mayor de San Idelfonso or the Monastery of St Bernard. The University Precinct begins at the Plaza Cervantes and extends to the east of the medieval city. The layout is based on humanist planning principles, with two main axes and a central place where the main University buildings are located. The walled medieval precinct has the Iglesia Magistral (Cathedral) at its core, from which the street network radiates, merging into the former Jewish and Arab quarters. To the north-west is the ecclesiastical precinct, surrounded by its own walls; at its heart is the Archbishop’s Palace. Within the historic centre there are several protected buildings under the Spanish legislation.

The city has its origins in the Roman town of Complutum. It expanded during the Middle Ages and flourished in the 16th century thanks to the foundation of the University. The concept of this city contributed to the University of Alcalá’s outstanding intellectual achievement for hundreds of years. Juxtaposed with the medieval town, this new city was converted into an exceptional model that embodied the Augustinian model of the City of God. The dream of the Civitas Dei became a reality, reaching the highest levels of intellectual achievement of the era in the sciences, language and literature.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Chartered Community of Navarre

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Navarre has two world heritage sites, non which are exclusive of the area.

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (shared with other autonomous communities and countries)

Type: Natural

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational composite nature encompassing forests in 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree’s adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain (shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Catalonia

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Catalonia has six world heritage sites. Five of them are exclusive while the other one is shared between other autonomous communities.

Archeological Ensemble of Tarraco (Tarragona)

Type: Cultural

Tarraco was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It was endowed with many fine buildings, and parts of these have been revealed in a series of exceptional excavations. Although most of the remains are fragmentary, many preserved beneath more recent buildings, they present a vivid picture of the grandeur of this Roman provincial capital.

Tárraco is remarkable for its singular conception within Roman planning: the town plan was adapted to the configuration of the land by means of a series of artificial terraces, which can be seen around the provincial forum as well as in the residential area of the Roman city.

Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall the Boí (Lérida)

Type: Cultural

As a group, these churches represent an especially pure and consistent example of pictorial art and architecture in the Lombard Romanesque style. They were built between the 11th and 12th centuries under the patronage of the Lords of Erill, and were unusual for their placement on the fringe of their respective ancient villages and also for the richness of the interior pictorial decoration.

It is in this group of exceptionally well preserved rural churches that the largest concentration in Europe of Romanesque art is to be found.

It can therefore be considered a masterpiece of the period and an example of great human creativity.

Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau (Barcelona)

Type: Cultural

These are two of the finest contributions to Barcelona's architecture by the Catalan art nouveau architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The Palau de la Música Catalana is an exuberant steel-framed structure full of light and space, and decorated by many of the leading designers of the day. The Hospital de Sant Pau is equally bold in its design and decoration, while at the same time perfectly adapted to the needs of the sick.

Poblet Monastery (Tarragona)

Type: Cultural

Poblet Monastery is one of the largest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in the world. It was built in the 12th to 15th centuries around a church that dates to the 13th century. It is impressive for the majesty of its architecture and includes a fortified royal residence as well as the pantheon of the kings and queens of Aragon.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin (Tarragona, Lérida and Barcelona, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).

Works of Antoni Gaudí

Type: Cultural

The Works of Antoni Gaudí is an exceptional creative synthesis of several 19th-century artistic schools, such as the Arts and Crafts movement, Symbolism, Expressionism, and Rationalism, and is directly associated with the cultural apogee of Catalonia. Gaudí also presaged and influenced many forms and techniques of 20th-century Modernism and outstanding creative contribution to the architectural heritage of modern times. Gaudí’s work is a remarkable reflection of all these different facets of society and has a unique and singular character. In fact, his works are particularly associated with Modernisme, and in this sense, Gaudí can be regarded as the most representative and outstanding of the Modernista architects.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Castilla- La Mancha

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Castilla- La Mancha has five world heritage sites, two of which are exclusive.

Historic City of Toledo (Toledo)

Type: Cultural

Successively a Roman municipium, the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors and, in the 16th century, the temporary seat of supreme power under Charles V, Toledo is the repository of more than 2,000 years of history. Its masterpieces are the product of heterogeneous civilizations in an environment where the existence of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – was a major factor.

Historic Walled City of Cuenca (Cuenca)

Type: Cultural

Built by the Moors in a defensive position at the heart of the Caliphate of Cordoba, Cuenca is an unusually well-preserved medieval fortified city. Conquered by the Castilians in the 12th century, it became a royal town and bishopric endowed with important buildings, such as Spain's first Gothic cathedral, and the famous casas colgadas (hanging houses), suspended from sheer cliffs overlooking the Huécar river. Taking full advantage of its location, the city towers above the magnificent countryside.

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (Guadalajara, shared with other countries)

Type: Natural

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational composite nature encompassing forests in 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree’s adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija (Ciudad Real, shared with Slovenia)

Type: Cultural

The property encompasses two mercury mining sites and bears testimony to the intercontinental trade in mercury which generated important exchanges between Europe and America over the centuries. The two sites represent the two largest mercury mines in the world and were operational until recent times. Mercury played an important role in extracting gold and silver from ores, dug in American mines. In addition, both sites illustrate the various industrial, territorial, urban and social elements of a specific sociotechnical system in the mining and metal production industries.

In Almadén mercury (quicksilver) has been extracted since Antiquity, while in Idrija it was first found in 1490.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin (Albacete, Cuenca and Guadalajara, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).

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UNESCO World Heritage: Castilla y León

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Castilla y León has nine world heritage sites with six of them being exclusive and the others shared between other autonomous communities/ countries.

Castilla y León is the autonomous community with the most Heritage Sites in Spain.

Archaeological Site of Atapuerca (Burgos)

Type: Cultural

In a still ongoing excavation campaign, rich fossil deposits and stone tool assemblages and the earliest and most abundant evidence of humankind in Europe has been found in the Archeological Site of Atapuerca. The sites constitute an exceptional example of continuous human occupation, due to their special ecosystems and their geographical location. The fossil remains in the Sierra de Atapuerca are an invaluable reserve of information about the physical nature and the way of life of the earliest human communities in Europe. In addition, painted and engraved panels have been recorded, with geometrical motifs, hunting scenes, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures.

Burgos Cathedral (Burgos)

Type: Cultural

 The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos (Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It is a comprehensive example of the evolution of Gothic style, with the entire history of Gothic art exhibited in its superb architecture and unique collection of art, including paintings, choir stalls, reredos, tombs, and stained-glass windows.

Las Médulas (León)

Type: Cultural

Las Médulas is a historic gold-mining site near the town of Ponferrada in the comarca of El Bierzo. It was the most important gold mine, as well as the largest open-pit gold mine, in the entire Roman Empire.

It is an outstanding example of innovative Roman technology, in which all the elements of the ancient landscape, both industrial and domestic, have survived to an exceptional degree.

Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches (Ávila)

Type: Cultural

Founded in the 11th century to protect the Spanish territories from the Moors, the city known as the 'City of Saints and Stones', the birthplace of St Teresa has kept its medieval austerity. This purity of form can still be seen in the Gothic cathedral and the fortifications which, with their 82 semicircular towers and nine gates, are the most complete in Spain.

Orson Welles once named Ávila as the place in which he would most desire to live, calling it a "strange, tragic place".

Old City of Salamanca (Salamanca)

Type: Cultural

This ancient university town north-west of Madrid was first conquered by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century B.C. It then became a Roman settlement before being ruled by the Moors until the 11th century. . The University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218 and is one of the oldest universities in Spain and the third oldest western university, but the first to be given its status by the Pope Alexander IV who gave universal validity to its degrees, reached its high point during Salamanca's golden age. The city's historic centre has important Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Baroque monuments. The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive.

Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (Segovia)

Type: Cultural

The Roman aqueduct of Segovia, probably built c. A.D. 50, is remarkably well preserved (it is one of the best-preserved elevated Roman aqueducts).

This impressive construction, with its two tiers of arches, forms part of the setting of the magnificent historic city of Segovia. Other important monuments include the Alcázar, begun around the 11th century, and the 16th-century Gothic cathedral.

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (Segovia, shared with other countries)

Type: Natural

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational composite nature encompassing forests in 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree’s adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde (Salamanca, shared with Portugal)

Type: Cultural

The two Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde are located on the banks of the rivers Agueda and Côa, documenting continuous human occupation from the end of the Paleolithic Age. Hundreds of panels with thousands of animal figures were carved over several millennia, representing the most remarkable open-air ensemble of Paleolithic art on the Iberian Peninsula.

Côa Valley and Siega Verde provide the best illustration of the iconographic themes and organization of Paleolithic rock art, using the same modes of expression in caves and in the open air, thus contributing to a greater understanding of this artistic phenomenon. Together they form a unique site of the prehistoric era, rich in material evidence of Upper Paleolithic occupation.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain Castilla y León, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Cantabria

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Cantabria has two world heritage sites which are shared with other autonomous communities.

Caves of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Cantabria, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

The Cave of Altamira is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. It is renowned for prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. Aside from the striking quality of its polychromatic art, Altamira's fame stems from the fact that its paintings were the first European cave paintings for which a prehistoric origin was suggested and promoted.

The cave can no longer be visited for conservation reasons, but there are replicas of a section at the site and in Madrid, Germany and Japan (fun fact: the person who made the replicas was my mother's photography teacher).

In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain (Cantabria, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Canary Islands

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The Canary Islands have four world heritage sites that are unique and exclusive to them.

Garajonay National Park (La Gomera)

Type: natural

Although named as a single type of forest, the Garajonay National Park englobes several varieties of forests. Most humid and protected valleys oriented to the North have the richest and most complex forests. It is known as valley laurisilva, a true subtropical rainforest where the largest laurel trees can be found. The presence of springs and numerous streams assures a lush vegetation resembling that of the Tertiary, which, due to climatic changes, has largely disappeared from southern Europe. the Garajonay forest harbors a rich biota of understory plants, invertebrates, and birds and bats, including a large number of endemic species.

The peak and park are named after Guanche lore, the hapless lovers Gara and Jonay. Their romance evokes that of Romeo and Juliet.

Risco Caído and Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape (Gran Canaria)

Type: Cultural

Risco Caído is a land-form and archaeological site that contains prehistoric cave dwellings, temples, and granaries attributed to the pre-hispanic culture of the Canary Islands. It is also considered to have been used as an astronomical observatory by Aboriginal people. It is one of the two sacred temples, or almogarenes — Risco Caído and Roque Bentayga — where seasonal ceremonies were held. These temples are thought to be linked to a possible cult of the stars and Mother Earth.

San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife)

Type: Cultural

San Cristóbal de La Laguna includes two original town centres each belonging to a different time of history: the so-called Upper Town is the initial founding site next to the lagoon, and has an unplanned urban structure; and the Lower Town, one kilometre to the East, which is designed on a grid. It is the first ideal territory-town, being designed according to philosophical principles and Royal regulations, organized around a founding square known as Plaza del Adelantado. Its heritage architecture represents significant instances of the Mudéjar, Neoclassical, Modernist, Rationalist, and Contemporary architecture that have remained alive and active until now. 

Teide National Park (Tenerife)

Type: Natural

Rising 7,500 m above the ocean floor, Mount Teide is regarded as the world’s third-tallest volcanic structure and stands in a spectacular environment. The visual impact of the site is all the greater due to atmospheric conditions that create constantly changing textures and tones in the landscape and a ‘sea of clouds’ that forms a visually impressive backdrop to the mountain. Teide is of global importance in providing evidence of the geological processes that underpin the evolution of oceanic islands. The similarity between environmental and geological conditions of Teide National Park and the planet Mars have made the park the ideal place for testing instruments that will travel to Mars and reveal past or present life on Mars

Viola cheiranthifolia is exclusively found in the Teide's caldera. The Pinus canariensis, one of the only trees that grow in the area, is fire resistant.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Basque Country

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The Basque Country has two world heritage sites: one of them is exclusive of the area while the other one is shared between other autonomous communities.

Vizcaya Bridge (Biscay)

Type: Cultural

In Spain, the Vizcaya Bridge is the only monument in the Industrial Heritage category. UNESCO considers the bridge to be a perfect combination of beauty and functionality. It was the first to use a combination of iron technology and new steel cables which began a new form of constructing bridges which was later imitated throughout the world.

 It was the first bridge in the world to carry people and traffic on a high suspended gondola and was used as a model for many similar bridges in Europe, Africa and the America only a few of which survive. With its innovative use of lightweight twisted steel cables, it is regarded as one of the outstanding architectural iron constructions of the Industrial Revolution.

Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Biscay and Guipuzkoa, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

The Cave of Altamira is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. It is renowned for prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. Aside from the striking quality of its polychromatic art, Altamira's fame stems from the fact that its paintings were the first European cave paintings for which a prehistoric origin was suggested and promoted.

The cave can no longer be visited for conservation reasons, but there are replicas of a section at the site and in Madrid, Germany and Japan (fun fact: the person who made the replicas was my mother's photography teacher).

In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves.

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UNESCO World Heritage: Balearic Islands

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The Balearic Islands have two world heritage sites which are exclusive of the region.

Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana (Mallorca)

Type: Cultural

The landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana eminently exemplifies the interchange between the Muslim and Christian cultures, which is representative of the Mediterranean area, in the combination of the Arabic water harvesting and management technology with the agricultural know-how and the territorial control system introduced by the Christian conquerors, who took over the island of Mallorca in 13th century AD. It represents a spectacular, peculiar example of a terraced farmed landscape which combines an interconnected and highly specialised system of waterworks for collecting and storing water, featuring qanats, that are underground channels to harvest and transport water, canals, ditches, storage basins, with a system of terraces supported by dry-stone walls so as to make possible the cultivation of vegetables as well as fruit and olive trees in the terraced plots and including a sophisticated drainage system to avoid soil erosion. 

Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture (Ibiza)

Type: mixed

It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, its largest settlements Vila d'Eivissad, Santa Eulària des Riu, and Sant Antoni de Portmany. 

Ibiza provides an excellent example of the interaction between the marine and coastal ecosystems. The dense prairies of oceanic Posidonia contain and support a diversity of marine life. Ibiza preserves considerable evidence of its long history. The archaeological sites at Sa Caleta (settlement) and Puig des Molins (necropolis) testify to the important role played by the island in the Mediterranean economy in protohistory, particularly during the Phoenician-Carthaginian period.

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Asturias

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Asturias has three world heritage sites: one is exclusive of the area while the others are shared with other autonomous communities.

Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias (Oviedo)

Type: Cultural

In the 9th century the flame of Christianity was kept alive in the Iberian peninsula in the tiny Kingdom of the Asturias. Here an innovative pre-Romanesque architectural style was created that was to play a significant role in the development of the religious architecture of the peninsula. Associated with them is the remarkable contemporary hydraulic engineering structure known as La Foncalada.

Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Asturias, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

The Cave of Altamira is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. It is renowned for prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. Aside from the striking quality of its polychromatic art, Altamira's fame stems from the fact that its paintings were the first European cave paintings for which a prehistoric origin was suggested and promoted.

The cave can no longer be visited for conservation reasons, but there are replicas of a section at the site and in Madrid, Germany and Japan (fun fact: the person who made the replicas was my mother's photography teacher).

In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves.

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain (Asturias, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Aragón

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Aragón has 4 world heritage sites, with one of them being exclusive of the area while the others are shared among different autonomous communities (and countries)

Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón (Teruel and Zaragoza)

Type: Cultural

The first manifestations of Aragonese Mudéjar have two origins: on the one hand, a palatial architecture linked to the monarchy, which amends and extends the Aljafería Palace maintaining Islamic ornamental tradition, and on the other hand, a tradition which develops Romanesque architecture using brickwork rather than masonry construction and which often displays Hispanic-rooted ornamental tracery.

Pyrenees- Monte Perdido (Huesca, shared with France)

Type: mixed

The Pyrénées – Mont Perdu is a World Heritage site straddling the border between Spain and France in the Pyrenees mountain chain. It includes two of Europe's largest and deepest canyons on the Spanish side and three major cirque walls on the more abrupt northern slopes with France.

The site is also a pastoral landscape reflecting an agricultural way of life that was once widespread in the upland regions of Europe but now survives only in this part of the Pyrénées.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin (Aragón, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).

Route of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain (Huesca, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

A network of four Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain, the site is an extension of the Route of Santiago de Compostela. The extension includes a built heritage of historical importance created to meet the needs of pilgrims, including cathedrals, churches, hospitals, hostels and even bridges, and encompasses some of the earliest pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, following the discovery in the 9thcentury of a tomb believed to be that of St. James the Greater.

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Andalucía (Andalusia)

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Andalucía has 8 world heritage sites, with 7 of them being exclusive of the area while the other one is shared between Aragón, Catalonia, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia and Valencia.

Córdoba is the city with the most Heritage Sites.

Alhambra, Generalife and Albaicín (Granada)

Type: Cultural

The Alhambra, meaning "The Red One"', is a palace and fortress complex. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls with many beautiful, intricate details. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.

The Generalife, meaning "Architect's Garden", was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. The palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammed II (1273-1302), Sultan of Granada, and later by Muhammed III (1302–1309). They were redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma'il (1313–1324). The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens.

The Albaicín is a district of Granada. It retains the narrow winding streets of its Medieval Moorish past dating back to the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

Antequera Dolmens Site (Málaga)

Type: Cultural

The Antequera Dolmens Site is a cultural heritage ensemble comprising three cultural monuments (the Dolmen of Menga, Dolmen of Viera and Tholos of El Romeral) and two natural mountain features (the Peña de los Enamorados and El Torcal).

Both the Dolmen of Menga and the Tholos of El Romeral have anomalous orientations: whereas the axes of almost all dolmens around the Mediterranean are oriented to a celestial feature, such as sunrise at dawn on the equinoxes  the Dolmen of Menga is the only Dolmen in continental Europe that points towards an anthropomorphic mountain (the Peña de los Enamorados) while Tholos of El Romeral is oriented to the mountains of El Torcal, containing the Cave of the Bull.

Caliphate City of Medina Azahara (Córdoba)

Type: Cultural

Medina Azahara, meaning "the Shining City", is the ruins of a vast, fortified Andalus palace-city built by Abd-ar-Rahman III (first Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba). It was the de facto capital of al-Andalus as the heart of the administration and government was within its walls.

Medina Azahara is an outstanding example of urban planning combining architectural and landscape approaches, the technology of urban infrastructure, architecture, decoration and landscape adaptation, illustrating the significant period of the 10th century CE.

Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias (Sevilla)

Type: Cultural

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is a Roman Catholic cathedral as well as the largest Gothic religious building. After its completion in the early 16th century, it supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. It is the resting place of Christopher Columbus and his son.

The Royal Alcázars of Seville, meaning "The Verdant Palace", is a royal palace built by Castilian Christians on the site of an Abbadid Muslim alcazar ("residential fortress") destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace is a preeminent example of Mudéjar architecture in the Iberian Peninsula but features Gothic, Renaissance and Romanesque design elements from previous stages of construction.

The Archivo General de Indias is the repository of extremely valuable archival documents illustrating the history of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Philippines. The building itself, an unusually serene and Italianate example of Spanish Renaissance architecture, was designed by Juan de Herrera.

Doñana National Park (Huelva, Cádiz and Sevilla)

Type: Natural

Doñana National Park has a biodiversity that is unique in Europe, although there are some similarities to the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue of the Camargue river delta in France. The park features a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boars, European badgers, Egyptian mongooses, and endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.

Due to its strategic location between the continents of Europe and Africa and its proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Doñana's large expanse of salt marsh is a breeding ground as well as a transit point for thousands of European and African birds (aquatic and terrestrial), and hosts many species of migratory waterfowl.

Historic Centre of Córdoba (Córdoba)

Type: Cultural

The historic centre of Córdoba is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The historic centre has a wealth of monuments preserving large traces of Roman, Arabic, and Christian times.

Evidence of the Roman period can be seen in the bridge over the Guadalquivir, the mosaics in the Alcázar, the columns of the Roman temple, and the remains of the Roman walls. In addition to the Caliphal Baths, the Moorish influence in the city's design is evident in the Alcázar gardens adjacent to the former Grand Mosque. Minarets from the period survive in the churches of Santiago, San Lorenzo, San Juan and the Santa Clara Hermitage. The Jewish presence during Muslim rule can be seen in the La Judería district in which the synagogue was used.

Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda and Baeza (Jaén)

Type: Cultural

The respective monumental ensembles attained their most unique constructive expressions during the Renaissance period. Úbeda developed outstanding noble architecture; Baeza turned into an important ecclesiastic and educational centre.

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin (Jaén, Almería and Granada, shared with other autonomous communities)

Type: Cultural

Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, is the name given to the group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Levantine art. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age. The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works. It is notable for the number of places included, the largest concentration of such art in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin; however, while some sites are located near the sea, many of them are inland in Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha; it is also often referred to as Levantine Art (meaning "from Eastern Spain", not the Levant region).