Jerez distributes 150,000 placemats featuring Asta Regia in hospitality venues

The bars and restaurants in Jerez associated with the Federación de Empresarios de Hostelería de la Provincia (Horeca) will distribute 150,000 placemats featuring motifs from the Asta Regia site. The campaign, presented this Tuesday at the Mirador del Arenal establishment, seeks to unite the city's culinary tradition with its historical legacy during the year in which Jerez is the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy.

Each placemat includes information about the archaeological site, so that anyone sitting down to eat or dine can learn about the city's historical heritage. According to the City Council, the visual and informational content has been prepared with "truthful and verified" information. The initiative stems from a proposal by Juan Manuel Caballero, a member of the former Plataforma Ciudadana por Asta Regia, and work on it had been underway for some six years. The campaign is presented after the site's land became public, following its purchase by the Junta de Andalucía for 1.3 million euros.

The vice-president of Horeca, Juan Carlos Morales, has stated that with this campaign the hospitality sector becomes a channel for cultural outreach and information about the site reaches all audiences. The president of the Asociación por Asta Regia, Javier García, has explained that one of the entity's objectives was to bring academic knowledge closer to the street. The mayor, María José García-Pelayo, has stated that the initiative makes it possible to "unite culture, heritage and gastronomy." The mayor has announced that in the coming days there will be a meeting with the regional minister of Culture, Patricia del Pozo, to learn how the site will be managed and about the excavation project being carried out by the Junta de Andalucía, once 90 hectares beneath which the site lies have become the property of the Junta.