Assessing the cultural significance of a historic site: Elca, the house of the poet Francisco Brines

Abstract

Over time, the concept of cultural property has been extended from the monument to its environment, to the territory, and has gone from comprising material elements to also encompassing the meanings related to it. It is in this context that the concept of historic site or cultural place can be understood, in which the immaterial values related to a space are recognized in preference to material elements, which may even be irrelevant. On the occasion of the initiation of proceedings to declare the house of the poet Francisco Brines as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC) in the category of historic site, we have applied the methodology proposed by the Burra Charter to evaluate the cultural significance of the place, the result of which has served as the basis for issuing the required opinion. This estate, which is located in the Valencian town of Oliva in a valley open to the sea and surrounded by orange groves, is the site of the family summer home that he made his habitual residence during the last years of his life. First of all, the property is identified and described, and then its cultural significance is assessed, based on the study of its historical, aesthetic, spiritual and social values. From this assessment we highlight the close relationship established between the poet, poetry and space, which makes Elca a place endowed with its own meanings which, together with its relevant aesthetic qualities, endorse its recognition as a BIC.