On Apirila 17, the new virtual content for the guided tours of Punta Begoña was activated.

The Foundation has launched this project to disseminate heritage and our history in an absolutely innovative, accessible, educational, and entertaining way. It’s not just about learning history, but above all about experiencing it.

The aim is to leverage the spectacular nature of Punta Begoña, its strategic location, and the accumulation of historical milestones it preserves, to incorporate the most spectacular and innovative technologies, combining audiovisual aesthetics, cinematic language, state-of-the-art virtual recreations, artificial intelligence, period characters, and special effects.

The result of this combination will allow visitors to the monument to immerse themselves, from the viewpoint of Punta Begoña, in a journey through time, with stops at its most relevant historical milestones.

In the first phase of the project, which opened to the public on Apirila 17, historical milestones from the 20th century are showcased, such as:

• The construction of a European icon. Punta Begoña 1918.
• From the 1920s to 1931. The future was designed from Punta Begoña. The emergence of Horacio Echevarrieta, one of the most important businessmen in Spanish history.
• That day in 1937. War and exile, bombs over the Abra and Punta Begoña. One of the saddest days of the 20th century in Euskadi.
• The plundering of Punta Begoña and the traces of fascism. 1939 and the 1940s.

This new cultural tourism resource, which complements the offerings of Getxo and Bizkaia, largely responds to the majority demand among the more than 100,000 people who have already visited Punta Begoña.

The first visit was conducted in Euskera, with people coming from different parts of Bizkaia, and was also attended by communication professionals.

“Aided by mobile phones and tablets, and with special effects and artificial intelligence, tourists traveled back a century. They were able to explore the rooms in 360 degrees and observe, through screens, how the architect Ricardo Bastida, together with the magnate and owner Horacio Echevarrieta, designed the building. They walked through a recreation of the living room and watched the Nationalist faction use the place as a relief dining hall, after seizing it from the Republicans.”

El Correo

“It’s been very interesting; the only place we’ve seen something similar is at Casa Batlló in Barcelona. It’s great because you can learn what this place was like in another era.”

Sisters Edurne and Iratxe Larrea from Galdakao noted

The response to the new content has been very positive, with available capacities often being filled.

During the first few weeks, work is being carried out in “pilot project” mode, gathering feedback from visitors, simplifying and assisting in the use of the tool, and incorporating improvements in the interaction of virtual content within the guided tour.