Centre Cultural La Nau (Universitat de València), founding venue of the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. València, Spain.
A European recognition for the historic headquarters of the Universitat de València
The Centre Cultural La Nau, a historic building of the Universitat de València, founded in 1499, has been awarded the European Heritage Label, the recognition granted by the European Commission to
“sites that have profoundly marked the history, culture and development of the European Union.”
The nomination of the Centre Cultural La Nau was recognised for its strategic role in connecting the university community and the territory with the European dimension through the building’s historical heritage, cultural activities and educational programmes promoted by the University.
As noted by Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport:
“Each of them is a storyteller narrating the rich history and evolution of Europe.”
The selected sites will receive formal recognition during the European Heritage Label Awards Ceremony, scheduled for 22 April 2026 in Brussels, in the presence of European institutions and representatives of the cultural heritage sector.
Located at the heart of one of the oldest universities in Spain and Europe, La Nau today represents a lively and dynamic space for cultural production, committed to promoting democratic values, sustainability and social justice.
A recognition that strengthens the European role of València
With this recognition, the Centre Cultural La Nau joins the network of European sites distinguished with the European Heritage Label, places that contribute to narrating Europe’s shared history and promoting its values through culture, research and education.
The award also recognises the role of historic universities as spaces for building European memory and fostering cultural dialogue between generations, disciplines and territories.
As emphasised by the Universitat de València:
“this award highlights the historical uniqueness of La Nau in the process of European construction and recognises the vision of the Universitat de València in transforming it into a cultural centre in 1999.”
Over the years, La Nau has strengthened this European vocation by hosting cultural, scientific and artistic initiatives that foster dialogue between heritage, research and society.
La Nau, birthplace of the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis route
The Centre Cultural La Nau is the founding site of the international association Aromas Itinerarium Salutis (AIS), responsible for the European Route of Historic Pharmacies and Medicinal Gardens, certified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2024.
La Nau has hosted some of the most significant moments in the birth and development of the Route: in October 2021, the cultural centre hosted the first edition of the international symposium “Drugs & Colors”, which laid the scientific and international cooperation foundations of the future European Route. On 15 December of the same year, also at La Nau, the constitution of the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis Association was signed.
In 2025, the cultural centre hosted the first AIS Forum, during which the certification of the Route as a “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” was celebrated in the presence of Sergio Ortega Muñoz (member of the Bureau of the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, representing the Spanish Ministry of Culture), Ester Alba, Vice-Rector for Culture of the Universitat de València and President of AIS, and María Luisa Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual, Director of Heritage of the Universitat de València and Director of the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis Route.
On that occasion, the spaces of La Nau hosted working sessions, discussion groups and conferences dedicated to the European Route. In the historic cloister the official certification ceremony took place, including the delivery of plaques to the destinations of the European Route and the screening of the documentary “SPICES: European tales of ancient medicinal and culinary legacies”, produced within the framework of the project awarded in the European Heritage Days led by AIS.
The Forum’s cultural programme also included a guided visit to the Historical Library of the Universitat de València and an exhibition tour guided by the artist Carles Tarrassó, dedicated to the artistic installation “La construcción del gusto”.
The work — which intertwines senses, medicinal plants and cuisine, in harmony with the themes of the documentary Spices — found on that occasion its first international resonance: from there began the journey that brought it to the temporary exhibition “The Pharmacognostic Atlas” at the Museum of Pharmacy of Łódź (16 October 2025 – 16 January 2026), and subsequently to its acquisition by the museum, becoming today part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Pharmacy of Łódź.
La Nau, crossroads of European cultural policies
The awarding of the European Heritage Label confirms the Centre Cultural La Nau as one of the symbolic places of European culture in València, capable of connecting academic research, historical heritage and international cooperation.
The fact that this site is also the founding seat of a Council of Europe Cultural Route further strengthens its role within the panorama of European cultural networks. The convergence between a site distinguished with the European Heritage Label and the birthplace of a Council of Europe Cultural Route remains, in fact, a still relatively rare configuration within the field of European cultural policies.
Key facts
Organisation: Aromas Itinerarium Salutis Association (AIS)
Founded: 15 December 2021
Place: Centre Cultural La Nau, Universitat de València, Spain
Field: Cultural heritage and history of pharmacy
What is AIS
Aromas Itinerarium Salutis (AIS) is a non-profit association dedicated to the heritage of historic pharmacies, medicinal gardens and the traditions of materia medica.
Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe
Aromas Itinerarium Salutis is part of the Cultural Routes programme of the Council of Europe since 2024.