Borja, Zaragoza

Geography

The municipality borders with Ablitas (in Navarre) Agón, Ainzón, Alberite de San Juan, Albeta, Ambel, Bulbuente, El Buste, Fréscano, Magallón, Maleján, Mallén, Tabuenca, Tarazona, and Vera de Moncayo. It is the administrative seat of the comarca of Campo de Borja.

History

The town's origins date back to the fifth century BC, because this is when a Celtiberian settlement known as Bursau or Bursao had existed near the current ruins of the castle. After the Roman conquest (first century BC) also the slopes of the hill were populated, though the town started to expand significantly only after the Muslim conquest in the eighth century AD.

In the twelfth century it was conquered by the Christians from the north, and in the fifteenth/16th centuries it was converted into a military fortress against the Castillan invasions, but at the same time received much of its historical architectural heritage, with numerous churches and palaces. It received the title of "city" by King Alfonso V of Aragon in 1438. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the Jews, forming an important part of the Borjan community, were expelled.

The House of Borgia, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance, originated in Borja and their name was a variant of the town's name. However, since at the time when they lived in Borja they were not yet especially prominent, their earlier history remains largely unknown.

Borja existed through a period of recession and plagues in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It recovered economically starting from the nineteenth century, when a railway connecting the city to Cortes, in Navarre, was inaugurated. In the twentieth century agriculture, traditionally the mainstay of Borja's economy, started to lose its importance, and, without a consistent industrial base, the city lost economical and political importance in the area: much of the population therefore emigrated to other more developed areas. The industrial sector is intended to be boosted by businesses being attracted to the ongoing development "Polígono Industrial Barbalanca", the Barbalanca Industrial Estate.

Demographics

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8)

ImageSize = width:520 height:380 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:7000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData= bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:1996 text:1996 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2007 text:2007 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2014 text:2014

PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1900 from:0 till:5701 bar:1920 from:0 till:5058 bar:1940 from:0 till:5068 bar:1950 from:0 till:4972 bar:1960 from:0 till:4381 bar:1970 from:0 till:3991 bar:1981 from:0 till:4069 bar:1991 from:0 till:3859 bar:1996 from:0 till:4174 bar:2000 from:0 till:4256 bar:2007 from:0 till:4653 bar:2010 from:0 till:5042 bar:2014 from:0 till:4931

PlotData= bar:1900 at: 5701 fontsize:S text:5,701 shift:(-8,5) bar:1920 at: 5058 fontsize:S text:5,058 shift:(-10,5) bar:1940 at: 5068 fontsize:S text:5,068 shift:(-10,5) bar:1950 at: 4972 fontsize:S text:4,972 shift:(-10,5) bar:1960 at: 4381 fontsize:S text:4,381 shift:(-10,5) bar:1970 at: 3991 fontsize:S text:3,991 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 4069 fontsize:S text:4,069 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 3859 fontsize:S text:3,859 shift:(-10,5) bar:1996 at: 4174 fontsize:S text:4,174 shift:(-10,5) bar:2000 at: 4256 fontsize:S text:4,256 shift:(-10,5) bar:2007 at: 4653 fontsize:S text:4,653 shift:(-10,5) bar:2010 at: 5042 fontsize:S text:5,042 shift:(-10,5) bar:2014 at: 4931 fontsize:S text:4,931 shift:(-10,5)

TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Source INE

Main sights

• Collegiate church of Santa Maria.
• Church of San Miguel, in Gothic– style, with a Romanesque apse.
• Baroque convent of Santa Clara
• Hermitage of San Jorge, in Gothic-Mudéjar style
• Town Hall, built in 1532
• eighteenth-century small temple
• Newly renovated, twentieth-century fresco depicting a "Hedgehog-like" figure of Jesus

Fresco restoration

In 2012, octogenarian amateur painter Cecilia Giménez botched a partial restoration of an unremarkable Ecce Homo fresco ( 1930) depicting Christ by Elías García Martínez. The spectacularly bad results garnered worldwide attention, and has been called one of "the worst art restoration projects of all time". However, the interest from tourists has led to an economic upswing in the town. In the year following the failed restoration, tourist activity generated 40,000 visits and more than €50,000 for a local charity. By 2016, the number of tourists visiting the town increased from 6,000 to 57,000; in addition to spending money with local businesses, visitors have donated some €50,000 to the church. The money has been used to employ additional attendants at the church and to fund an old people's home. On 16 March 2016, an interpretation centre dedicated to the artwork was opened in Borja.

Notable people

• Pope Callixtus III
• Juan II Coloma, 1st Lord of Elda

Twin towns

• Jurançon, France
• Lisle-sur-Tarn, France

Gallery

|File:Borja - Ayuntamiento.JPG|Town hall |File:Plazaborja.jpg|Plaza del Mercado ("Market Square") |File:Casa Estanca.jpg|Casa de la Estanca |File:Santuario de Misericordia, Borja, Zaragoza, España, 2015-01-02, DD 001-003 HDR.JPG|Interior of the church of the Mercy

References

References

1. (22 August 2012). "Spanish fresco restoration botched by amateur". BBC News.
2. (23 August 2012). "Despite Good Intentions, a Fresco in Spain Is Ruined". The New York Times.
3. Brooks, Katherine. (20 September 2012). "'Ecce Homo' Restorationist Cecilia Gimenez Allegedly Demands Royalties for 'Beast Jesus' Creation in Spain". HuffPost.
4. (14 Aug 2013). "Ecce dinero: Spain turns ruined Christ fresco into money-spinner | Art and design". The Guardian.
5. (30 November 2013). "Detenido Florencio Garcés, el cura de Borja: abusos sexuales y robo de 210.000 euros. En la Iglesia de esta localidad zaragozana se encuentra el famoso 'Eccehomo' restaurado por Cecilia Giménez".
6. (17 March 2016). "Botched restoration has visitors flooding to sleepy Spanish village". Euro Weekly News.
7. Aitor Bengoa. (16 Mar 2016). "El eccehomo de Borja ya tiene quien lo explique. Se inaugura el Centro de Interpretación centrado en la pintura retocada en 2012 por la restauradora aficionada Cecilia Giménez". El Pais.