Both sites are preparing a new programme of activities for the autumn

• The Roman quarry of Mèdol on the AP-7 motorway and the UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves in Castellet – home to the Abertis Foundation – saw a surge in activity during the summer tourist season in Catalonia.
• The Abertis Foundation is preparing new activities for the forthcoming school year in order to maintain public interest in the months ahead and ramp up its efforts to disseminate cultural and environmental information.
• Both centres demonstrate Abertis’ commitment to road safety and cultural and environmental heritage in the areas in which it operates. By way of a number of initiatives, the group is leading on an exemplary project involving the central government, the company, the environment and UNESCO.

Barcelona, 28 August 2015

The Mèdol quarry in Tarragona – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves at the Abertis Foundation’s headquarters in Castellet (Castellet i la Gornal, Barcelona) have ended the summer season more popular than ever as summer season cultural and environmental tourist destinations, breaking all records for visitor numbers.

The Abertis Foundation is preparing a new programme of activities for the autumn to raise public interest during the new school year starting in September.

The Mèdol quarry

The Roman Mèdol quarry has completed its first full summer of activity in 2015 after it opened in July 2014. According to the latest figures, visitors gave a big thumbs up to the new interpretation centre at the service station with the same name. Audiovisual displays are provided in several languages at the site, describing the quarry’s uses and its historical and cultural importance. Information is given on everything from how the stone was extracted to how it was used to make important monuments in Tarraco on the actual Via Augusta which the AP-7 motorway now follows.

During the new school year, the Abertis Foundation will run an ambitious programme of activities for teachers and schools around Catalonia in order to reach the youngest audience. The programme will involve producing a self-guided activity for schools with teaching resources for teachers and worksheets for pupils to fill in during the activity. This will enable children and young people to find out more about the monument – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – which was crucial to the growth of the Roman city of Tarraco.

The quarry at Mèdol covers 11 hectares, and is one of the 13 Roman architectural sites in Tarragona. The stone quarried there was used in some of the most important buildings in Tarraco, the capital of Hispania Citerior during the Roman Republic and Empire. The quarry is included on one of the cultural itineraries of the Tarragona History Museum.

The interpretation centre is currently open to visitors from 9am to 2pm, Tuesday to Saturday, while the path skirting the quarry (the site itself is protected for archaeological reasons) can be accessed all day and is dotted with information panels. Information can also be downloaded on mobile phones using QR codes.

UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves

Elsewhere, the UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves in Castellet – home to the Abertis Foundation – has seen an increase in the number of visitors this summer after it opened as a UNESCO centre in April 2014.

Looking ahead to the new academic year and following the success of the latest environmental seminars at the centre organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the Ministry, UNESCO and the EU will run new seminars and meetings to raise environmental awareness, such as the meeting of environment ministers from Mediterranean countries.
The Abertis Foundation’s headquarters (Castellet i la Gornal, Barcelona) was declared a UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves on 14 November 2013 at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris and inaugurated on 5 April 2014. It is the first public-private initiative of its kind in this sphere, involving the government, the company, the environment and the UN.

The UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves is open to the public through guided tours every second weekend of the month from 10am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Abertis Foundation and cultural and environmental heritage

The Abertis Foundation is active in three key spheres (road safety, culture and the environment), and works to mitigate the impact of the Abertis Group’s activity in the countries in which it operates. Its commitment to society is highlighted by an extensive road safety programme primarily targeting the most vulnerable drivers and pedestrians. The Abertis Foundation’s activities in the area of culture involve partnerships with leading cultural institutions around the world. Regarding environmental protection, its headquarters are a UNESCO Centre on Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves.

The Foundation also channels some of Abertis’ sponsorships and plays a coordinating role with regard to the corporate social responsibility activities of the group’s businesses.
años setenta la selección de estos espacios naturales con el objetivo de conservar y proteger su biodiversidad, así como de fomentar el desarrollo económico y humano en estas zonas, la investigación, la educación y el intercambio de información dentro de la red mundial que hoy constituyen más 560 Reservas de la Biosfera en 110 países. Eran los primeros pasos hacia el concepto de desarrollo sostenible que hoy conocemos como Programa MaB (sobre el Hombre y la Biosfera, conocido por sus siglas en inglés, Man and Biosphere).