EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Weaving the future with threads from the past

Weaving the future with threads from the past - Portugal

Introduction

The town of Covilhã, situated in the mountain region of Beira (Serra das Estrellas, Portugal), was specialising in wool production as far back as the 12th century. It is only natural, then, that the town, its university and its wool museum should be at the heart of the transnational pilot project Arqueotex, whose principal objective is to set up a European information network on the Old World’s textile industry heritage.

Description

The Museum of Wool in Covilhã has shown the way by creating a documentation centre in a specially equipped building. Several partners from other regions with textile traditions and facing the same industrial crisis as Catalonia in Spain, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France, the region of Cork in Ireland and the West Midlands in the United Kingdom have now joined the Portuguese mountain town to carry out this project. Together, they also intend to develop a touristic and cultural itinerary based on the textiles theme: a sort of " European textile tour".

Results

Arqueotex hopes to weave the future with threads from the past. To this end, it uses the most modern facilities and state-of-the-art information technology. As well as affirming the industrial heritage of five European regions, the project also aims to put the spotlight on a series of interconnected activities:

textile crafts,
design,
restoration
and conservation.

The project is to have a positive impact on the direct and indirect employment rate of the region.

Resources used

Total cost 599,330 euros
EU contribution 941,000 euros - ERDF

Contact info

Museu de Lanificios da Universidade de Beira Interior
Phone: +351 275 31 97 12
muslan@ubista.ubi.pt

Project start date

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment

Keywords

Urban economy