This issue of Observing Memories represents the consolidation of a high quality multidisciplinary journal which explores the past from a permanent trans-European and international perspective. With each issue published, the Observatory’s reputation has grown and we are delighted to present our latest edition, published just after the exhumation of the dictator Francisco Franco from the mausoleum of the Valley of the Fallen. The removal of Franco’s remains is an important step for democracy both in Spain and in Europe. It means that we can now begin to consider this place of terror from the perspective of heritage and culture – perhaps even as a tourist destination, once tribute has been paid to the memory of the thousands of victims buried there illicitly by the dictatorship.

Cover picture: View from the bedroom, Hospedería Santa Cruz, Valley of the Fallen (Cuelgamuros) | Silvia Marimon, 2018. By Jordi Guixé, director of the European Observatory on Memories (EUROM) of the University of Barcelona’s Solidarity Foundation A year ago we published the first issue of Observing Memories, a digital magazine that aimed to offer a …