A hundred professionals in archaeology and landscape warn the Menorca Council of the "serious mistake" of ignoring UNESCO

PalmMore than one hundred prominent figures from across Spain, all involved in cultural heritage, archaeology, and landscape, have signed a letter warning the Menorca Island Council that completing the Rafal Rubí double-level roundabout would be "a grave error" and a "conflict" with UNESCO criteria. The project affects an area declared a World Heritage Site in September 2023, which, according to the signatories, would be severely damaged.

The controversy dates back to the project begun in 2013, when construction started on a large interchange next to the Rafal Rubí archaeological site, on the east coast of the island. That contract was halted years later. During that time, Menorca was promoting the candidacy of Talayotic Menorca for World Heritage status, and UNESCO had already demanded that the unfinished interchange be removed because it significantly altered a landscape considered key to the protection of the site. When the designation was granted in 2023, the international organization expressly reiterated this request. However, the current governing team of the Consell (Island Council) has announced its intention to resume construction and complete the infrastructure, which has reignited the public debate and prompted the collective letter presented this December. UNESCO and ICOMOS oppose the project.

Last November, UNESCO reiterated its clear position: it considers that a two-level roundabout would have a "very negative" visual impact and would compromise the integrity and authenticity of the protected Talayotic landscape. Its advisory body, ICOMOS, holds the same view.

According to the signatories, ignoring these warnings would be tantamount to "continuing down a path that UNESCO advises against," which could affect Menorca's credibility as an exemplary territory in heritage management. A call to review the project

Among the more than one hundred signatories are professors, architects, geographers, museum directors, and landscape and heritage specialists from universities and institutions throughout Spain, as well as several professionals with ties to Menorca. In the manifesto, they call on the Consell (Island Council) to halt the current bidding process and explore alternatives that do not involve maintaining the bridge or the intersection.

They also point out that the ME-1 highway has been improved in other sections without the need for dual carriageways, even at busier interchanges, and that the Rafal Rubí project is planned for a particularly sensitive area. They consider it "incomprehensible" that, in a territory declared a World Heritage Site, an infrastructure that UNESCO itself is calling for modifications to be maintained.

Debate on safety and technical reports

Those critical of the project also question the narrative that presents the infrastructure as essential for road safety reasons. They argue that alternatives exist to facilitate U-turns or detours without the need for an elevated intersection, and they recall that a 2019 internal report by the Consell (Island Council) already proposed modifying the project to avoid a "total" landscape impact between the road maintenance workers' hut and the change in gradient towards Mahón. The statement also criticizes the lack of a leading role by the Consell's Department of Culture in protecting heritage, and rejects the "vegetation barrier" proposed in recent reports to minimize the visual impact, a solution that UNESCO considers insufficient.

A question of credibility

The signatories warn that maintaining the project could erode Menorca's image as a leader in heritage management. "It is a serious mistake and an international conflict to try to continue down a path that UNESCO advises against," the text concludes, urging the Consell (Island Council) to find a solution "that effectively respects the heritage" and to modify the project before implementing it.