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The Sierra y Mancha Conquense pilot

A Roman archaeological park, a historic pilgrim route and 56 municipalities: can heritage hold a depopulating territory together?

How does the Spanish pilot use cultural heritage, and what does its Regional Action Plan target by 2028?

It uses the Segóbriga Archaeological Park and the Camino de la Orden de Santiago as anchors for tourism, entrepreneurship and cooperation across the ADESIMAN territory. By 2028 the RAP targets 30 % growth in heritage-tourism receipts, population decline slowed to under 0.5 % a year, three smart-territory digital solutions, at least ten energy-community projects and sixteen community composters.

Open in the interactive book · missions, mini-games and memory cards there

Sierra y Mancha Conquense (Cuenca), Spain: Segóbriga heritage as a development engine

main tellingexample world: spaindepth: standard3 min markdown

The Spanish pilot covers the territory of ADESIMAN, the Federation for the Development of Sierra and Mancha Conquense, in the province of Cuenca (Castilla-La Mancha). ADESIMAN was formed on 7 January 1997 by merging two local development groups, ADIMMAC and SEDECUCE. It covers 56 municipalities and has run development programmes such as PRODER 1 and 2. Its cultural anchor is the Segóbriga Archaeological Park, and the historic Camino de la Orden de Santiago route crosses the area.

The Roman theatre of Segóbriga

The Roman theatre of Segóbriga. Photo: PoliRuralPlus pilot materials (RP7), poliruralplus.eu

TerritoryADESIMAN area, Sierra y Mancha Conquense, Cuenca
PartnersFundación SocialInnoLabs, SINNO (lead); Plan4All, P4A (support); ADESIMAN co-authored the brief
ThemeRural-urban synergies and cultural heritage
RAPSierra y Mancha Conquense territorial strategy, targets to 2028
Open callsMobilise: AI4RURAL Ideathon (ITECAM). Develop: ARISE

The challenge

The pilot wants to treat heritage, entrepreneurship, the digital transition and local capacity building as one agenda, not four. The brief lists depopulation, ageing and a male-dominated population; sparse broadband; heritage sites such as Segóbriga and Valeria without coordinated branding, digital integration or year-round visitor services; dependence on primary sectors; water scarcity and weak waste infrastructure; and fragmented governance and finance.

What the plan sets out

By 2028 the RAP targets 30 % growth in heritage-tourism receipts, population decline slowed to under 0.5 % a year, three smart-territory digital solutions, at least ten municipal energy-community projects and sixteen community composters. The brief recommends:

Tools, open calls and status

The AI4RURAL Ideathon (Mobilise), run by ITECAM in Tarancón, brought together about thirty professionals, start-ups and local actors to develop AI-based ideas for smart tourism, heritage, environmental management and local services. ARISE (Archaeological Routes for Inclusive Synergy & Entrepreneurship; Develop), led by the Obsidian Innovation Institute with Xilbi Sistemas de Información, produced a public digital platform that links archaeological heritage, cultural routes and local tourism services. It includes a business directory and an AI guide.

ARISE is the pilot’s working output. The hub, the fund and the service network are proposals. D7.4 adds an “EDIL” governance platform and AI-based tourism and energy modelling to the expected results.

Related

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