Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches

• Project to construct a new bridge over the river Rio Adajo  (issue resolved) 
• Urban pressure : re-designing of the Plaza Santa Teresa, located between the town walls and the extra-muros Church of San Pedro, including the replacement of traditional buildings with new ones.  

On 31 January 2005, the World Heritage Centre received a comprehensive report from the State Party in Spanish.  As requested by the Committee, and based on the State Party report, a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS mission took place from 10 to 12 March 2005 to evaluate the impact of the re-designing of the Plaza Santa Teresa, which is located between the circular wall of Avila and the extra-muros Church of San Pedro. 

The overall new urban design project was considered by the mission as necessary, as the  previous state of the Square was very poor, and one that has achieved high quality results.  In fact, the overall organisation of the Square has been significantly improved, with the definition of a new axis that emphasises the position and the architecture of the Church and of the wall’s gate, and with the use of quality materials and urban furniture.

However, the joint UNESCO/ICOMOS mission observed that the new main building facing the portico of the Square is now a predominant feature for volume and height.  The height taken as a reference for the new building was the maximum height of one of the former buildings, and the new construction is thus higher than the previous ones.  The mission therefore regretted the inversion of the dominant architectural values of the square, particularly as the ancient wall and gate have lost their former pre-eminence in favour of the new building.  

Despite its height and volume, this building constitutes a high quality architectural work that it would not be possible to remove or alter. 

With respect to the overall loss of World Heritage values, the mission concluded that they have not been compromised, reasoning that, should the new building have existed at the time of inscription, it would not have prevented the property from being inscribed.

The mission stated that there has been a weakness in the management of the property with regard to the protection of its World Heritage values, and urged the Authorities to strengthen the existing management tools in order to avoid all future risks. 

The mission also noted that the initial nomination proposal of this property did not include a buffer zone or a Management Plan, and therefore recommended that an appropriate buffer zone be established (this would imply an extension of the present limits of the Historico-Artistico ensemble) and indicated the need for an in-depth revision of all the management tools for the core and buffer zones.

At the moment, different planning instruments exist, but their limits do not coincide and are not necessarily coherent with the inscribed property.  The mission noted that the effectivness of the main conservation tool, the “Special Plan for the Protection of the Avila Historico-Artistico Ensemble” (PEPCHA), should be closely examined. 

For instance, the PEPCHA has been revised to allow the development of the project for the Plaza Santa Teresa, thus weakening its overall control and management function.