Abandoned villages in the area of Granada. The forgotten heritage of Tablate

Rural depopulation is becoming a problem day by day. There are a lot of reasons, which are leading to a massive exodus from the countryside to the city, but all of them are strictly connected to the change that we’re carrying on from the economic and social points of view. Depopulation is, first of all, a social issue, which is manifested by the abandonment of architectures, only one silent witness to the history of these places. Firstly, this study wants to develop research, based on statistical data about Spanish and Andalusian situation, about the depopulation process of small villages; secondly, wish focus on mapping all of these entity dwells getting abandoned or yet abandoned in Granada’s territory. Among these, an analysis is performed about Tablate, developing a survey of all the village and the most important building, a tower, as a witness of the cultural heritage, too often forgotten, in these places. The main aim of this study is the heritage valorization of Tablate, whose history, and so whose architectural importance, it’s completely unknown or fades into the background compared to others villages in the same area. Besides, it wants to encourage the requalification of abandoned villages, believing that the care and the reconstruction for the cultural heritage valorisation, in a durable and sustainable form, requires the restoration of historical buildings and, in the social field, an active population, aware of the heritage it has.