The C.V MARQ Foundation and the Bishopric of Orihuela-Alicante have signed this morning a collaboration agreement for the conservation, dissemination and research of the cultural heritage of both entities. The President of the Provincial Council, Joaquín Ripoll, and the Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, Rafael Palmero, signed this agreement today, which over the next two years will allow the two institutions to develop projects of common interest in the archaeological, museological and research fields. Likewise, the MARQ and the Bishopric will promote actions for the development and shared use of contacts, infrastructures, scientific, archaeological, technical and heritage resources and will determine activities that aim to jointly develop the research and dissemination programmes of the Historical-Artistic Heritage that comprise the collections of their funds.
A Joint Follow-up Commission, made up of two representatives from each institution, will be in charge of designing the annual joint activities, as well as selecting and proposing the specific programmes to be developed. In this sense, Ripoll stated that "In September last year we presented the reproduction of the Paleochristian stele, which is the emblem of the diocese itself, and with it we are opening the doors for participation in the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the institution. What we are signing today is a framework collaboration agreement that establishes a Monitoring Commission, of which MARQ technicians will form part, and which will formalise, even more if possible, the relationship between the Alicante Provincial Council and the Bishopric". Collaborations Last year, the MARQ gave the Bishopric of Orihuela-Alicante a reproduction of the Paleo-Christian-Visigothic Stela, the original of which is in the archaeological museum. The original stone piece dates from the 7th century AD and was found in the Cerro de las Balsas de la Albufera in Alicante. The replica of the piece, an institutional symbol of the Orihuela-Alicante Diocese, remains in the entrance hall of the Bishopric Headquarters in Alicante.
