The Áreas Nai (Core Areas) project, Espacios de interés cultural marítimo (EICM, maritime cultural interest spaces) arose from the needs identified during the research process that led to the foundational document of the Galician Maritime Culture Plan (PCUMA), which specifies the need to delimit and study in detail the areas of special cultural, landscape, and heritage value known as Nai Areas (PCUMA project 04).
The Áreas Nai (Core Areas) Viewer is an interactive tool that allows users to explore 24 coastal zones of high cultural, landscape, and heritage value, and provides access to information on the elements they contain, their typologies, and descriptive records. It provides a comprehensive overview of these areas, emphasising their distinctiveness and their importance in safeguarding Galician maritime identity.
The platform provides an overview of the most emblematic coastal areas, showcasing their distinctive features and their contribution to preserving Galicia's maritime identity.
The Áreas Nai (Core Areas)
The Áreas Nai (Core Areas) are unique enclaves along the Galician coast that preserve their original maritime essence. They stand out as a living expression of maritime culture and the importance of traditional trades within the maritime-industrial chain, as well as for encompassing a coherent set of architectural, industrial, and landscape heritage elements.
Currently, the Áreas Nai (Core Areas) of the following have been studied and integrated into the viewer: Rinlo (Ribadeo), O Barqueiro (Mañón), O Porto de Bares (Mañón), Espasante (Ortigueira), San Felipe (Ferrol), Redes (Ares), Muxía, Quilmas (Carnota), Caldebarcos (Carnota), Portocubelo (Carnota), Muros, Enseada de Broña (Outes), Corrubedo (Ribeira), Secada – Touro (Ribeira), A Illa de Sálvora (Ribeira), O Carril (Vilagarcía de Arousa), A Illa de Arousa, O Porto de Meloxo (O Grove), Combarro (Poio), O Salgueirón - Massó (Cangas), Cobres (Vilaboa), As Illas Cíes (Vigo) e A Guarda. These areas form a territorial fabric that reflects Galician identity and has significant social, cultural and economic value. Their configuration demonstrates how maritime communities and the maritime-industrial chain have shaped the coastline over time, resulting in today's coastal landscapes.
In 2026, the identification and study of new Áreas Nai (Core Areas) will continue, including As Xubias (A Coruña), Camelle (Camariñas), Caneliñas (Cee) or Bouzas (Vigo).
Áreas Nai (Core Areas) objectives
With the aim of understanding, preserving, and strengthening maritime culture through these unique enclaves, the research on the Áreas Nai (Core Areas) is structured around the following specific objectives:
- To value traditional trades and their role in the historical and social shaping of the Galician coast.
- To identify and inventory representative areas that meet the necessary criteria to be considered Nai Areas.
- To highlight the heritage elements present in each area, as transmitters of cultural integrity and representativeness, as well as the landscape and natural setting in which they are located.
- To demonstrate the modification of the coastline and coastal landscapes caused by and for the work of people engaged in trades linked to the maritime-industrial chain.
- To disseminate the cultural, historical, social, and landscape value of these enclaves, contributing to their protection and enhancement.