CODICIS was an international project co-financed by the European Union's Erasmus+ program (2019-2024), aimed at strengthening the recovery, conservation, and dissemination of documentary and bibliographic heritage in Latin America. The University of Piura was one of the project's partner institutions and played a key role in specialized training, heritage research, and knowledge transfer to the community and institutions in northern Peru.

• Catholic University of San Pablo (Peru): project coordinating institution.
• Francisco Rizo Patrón: academic coordinator of the project.
• Tomás Salazar Steiger: Director of the Humanities Department at UCSP and responsible for the closing and consolidation stage of the project's legacy.
• European partners: University of Barcelona (Pedro Rueda Paredes) and University of Catania.

From UDEP, three strategic areas participated in the project: the Central Library, the Faculty of Humanities with the Academic Program of Cultural Management, and the Directorate of International Relations, consolidating a collaboration between heritage management, academic training, and international cooperation.

• María José Andrade Abelenda, As director of the Central Library, she led the enhancement of the UDEP heritage collection, promoting the conservation, cataloging and dissemination of the university's historical collections.
• Cristina Vargas Pacheco, As director of the International Relations Department during the execution of the project, she played a key role in the international articulation of UDEP within the Erasmus+ consortium.
• Alberto Requena, Professor of the Faculty of Humanities and of the Academic Program of History and Cultural Management, represented this faculty at the initial meeting of the project.

The Academic Program of History and Cultural Management, the only undergraduate program in Cultural Management in the country, contributed prior experience in documentary heritage management that strengthened UDEP's participation in CODICIS.

• Experience accumulated in projects to enhance the value of the Archbishopric Archive of Piura and Tumbes since 2008.
• Research developed by their teachers in regional archives of Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad.
• Incorporation of documentary heritage as a field of professional training for future cultural managers.
• An interdisciplinary approach that links research, conservation, cultural management, and public access to heritage.

The participation of UDEP made it possible to strengthen a university heritage composed of an old collection with publications from the 16th to the 20th centuries, nearly 2500 titles from the historical collection and collections of manuscripts, photographs, maps, folk art and intellectual funds such as the José Antonio del Busto collection, which includes an unpublished manuscript by Ricardo Palma.

The project also promoted the acquisition of equipment for digitizing and preserving historical documents.

• Organization of the Regional Symposium on Conservation and Management of Documentary Heritage in October 2022.
• Opening of the exhibition “Documentary Legacy at UDEP”.
• Training of professionals through the specialized CODICIS course.
• Strengthening the capacities for research, conservation and dissemination of documentary heritage.
• Consolidation of UDEP's regional projection as a benchmark in documentary heritage management.

The San Teodoro Cemetery, declared a National Cultural Heritage Monument in 2000, is one of Piura's most important sites of historical, artistic, and cultural memory. In this context, the University of Piura, through its Faculty of Humanities and Academic Program in History and Cultural Management, is strengthening its conservation, research, interpretation, and dissemination through a partnership with the Piura Charity Society (SBP).

The collaboration seeks to ensure that funerary heritage is understood not only as a space for conservation, but also as a resource for research, heritage education, cultural mediation, and community appropriation.

Universidad de Piura

• Julissa Gutiérrez, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, participates in the institutional articulation of UDEP.
• Marialejandra Puruguay Guillén, As director of the Academic Program in History and Cultural Management, she has played a prominent role in the articulation and representation of the program.
• Alberto Requena, Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, he is part of the initiatives linked to heritage and the articulation with the SBP.

Piura Charity Society

• Claudia de La Oliva Zamora, As president of the SBP, she led the initiatives for the conservation, dissemination and enhancement of the cemetery.
• Sergio Salgado, A graduate in History and Cultural Management, he worked as a cultural manager at the SBP during 2025.

The collaboration between UDEP and the Piura Charity Society was formalized on April 29, 2025 through an Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement.

• To promote historical, cultural and architectural research of the San Teodoro Cemetery.
• Develop activities related to interpretation, mediation, and heritage education.
• Implement joint actions for conservation, awareness and dissemination.
• Involving History and Cultural Management students in practical heritage management experiences.
• Strengthening the link between the university, cultural institutions and the Piura community.

The “Friends for San Teodoro” program was developed through “Inventory of the City of Silence” and “Hands for San Teodoro”.

• 17 young people participated in the first edition of “Friends for San Teodoro”.
• Inventory of approximately 300-350 gravestones in the historic area.
• Preventive conservation actions on more than 40 gravestones.
• Practical training on cleaning and preserving marble.
• Direct participation of students of History and Cultural Management from UDEP.
• Traveling exhibition “Discover the San Teodoro Cemetery”.
• Insertion of a graduate as a cultural manager of the SBP.
• Projection of new calls for volunteering and long-term research.

Piura La Vieja is a heritage research and management project initiated by the University of Piura (UDEP) in 1999, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the District Municipality of La Matanza. For over two decades, UDEP has contributed to the understanding, research, and enhancement of this important historical site, integrating perspectives from history, archaeology, architecture, and cultural management. The project aims to transform heritage into a resource for sustainable development and the strengthening of community identity.

The University of Piura played a fundamental role in the academic and scientific direction of the project. Professor Pável Elías Lequernaqué led the project on behalf of the University of Piura, spearheading historical research on the ancient city of San Miguel de Piura. From the Faculty of Humanities, professors such as Dr. Víctor Velezmoro Montes and Professor Cristina Vargas contributed to the project's development through historical research, museology, and cultural management. The institutional support of Dr. Antonio Mabres was also crucial for the project's inception in 1999.

The University of Piura's (UDEP) contribution encompasses historical and archaeological research, knowledge generation, specialized training, and cultural heritage management. Its researchers have utilized national and international documentary sources and participated in excavations, architectural studies, and territorial analyses. Furthermore, the University has promoted the dissemination of its findings through publications, conferences, seminars, and exhibitions, as well as educational initiatives such as the San Miguel de Piura Field School.

The sustained work of UDEP and its partner institutions has significantly advanced our understanding of San Miguel de Piura, identifying key areas of the old city and generating research on its history, architecture, and urban planning. The project has also achieved national and international recognition, connecting with research networks on colonial urbanism and disseminating its findings in specialized academic forums. Simultaneously, UDEP has promoted a comprehensive management approach that incorporates heritage enhancement, museum development, responsible tourism, heritage education, and community participation, linking heritage with the territorial development of La Matanza.

The University of Piura's Bicentennial Project was an academic initiative launched by the Institute of Humanistic Studies within the Faculty of Humanities to create a permanent space for research, academic exchange, and reflection on Peru's independence and the establishment of the Republic. Initiated in 2012, it accompanied the journey toward the Bicentennial through conferences, research projects, and publications that addressed Peruvian history, heritage, arts, literature, society, and identity.

The project was promoted by the University of Piura, through its Faculty of Humanities and the Institute of Humanistic Studies. Among the main researchers and professors involved are Víctor Velezmoro, Manuel Prendes, Julissa Gutiérrez Rivas, Cristina Vargas Pacheco, Carlos Arrizabalaga, Pablo Sebastián Lozano, and other professors and researchers from UDEP. The initiative also brought together national and international specialists and universities in its conferences and academic activities.

The project addressed Independence and the Republic from a broad humanities perspective. Its central themes included the construction of the heroes of Independence, the role of the Church, historical memory and the management of cultural heritage in commemorative spaces, daily life, the role of women, immigration, the press and political discourse, the construction of national identity, literature, migration, and philosophical thought. Within this framework, UDEP organized conferences in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2024, accompanied by academic publications.

The Bicentennial Project consolidated a line of research and humanistic reflection sustained for more than a decade. Six congresses were held, each linked to different moments in the history of the republic, and publications included, among others, The Courts and the crisis (2013), Taking root in fertile soil: Chinese immigrants on the northern coast of Peru (1876-1940) (2016), Two hundred years of arts, letters and daily life in northern Peru (2018) and One hundred years later. Peru at the beginning of the 20th century (2021). The project culminated with the congress “Peru after the Battle of Ayacucho”, held within the framework of the commemoration of the Bicentennial of Junín and Ayacucho.

This academic report, prepared in 2017 by graduates of History and Cultural Management from the University of Piura, is based on work developed in the Cultural Institutions course. The project analyzed how the Coastal El Niño phenomenon affected the operation and infrastructure of various cultural institutions in northern Peru and proposed recommendations to prevent future damage.

The research was coordinated by Cristina Vargas, MA, a professor at the University of Piura and a specialist in cultural management. The work was carried out by graduates of the History and Cultural Management program – class of 2017: Alexa Correa, Alicia Castillo, Gustavo Pacherre, Ana Paula Cornejo, María José Ramos, Manuel Carneiro, Karina Ruiz, and Álvaro Ortiz. The project demonstrates the role of the University of Piura and its Cultural Management program in generating applied research on real-world problems related to heritage and cultural institutions.

The research studied eight cultural institutions: the Alliance Française, the José María Valle Riestra School of Music, the San Teodoro Heritage Cemetery, the Regional Archive, the Judicial Archive, the Ignacio Escudero Municipal Library, and the Admiral Miguel Grau House Museum, all in Piura; and the Sicán and Túcume museums in Lambayeque. The students conducted observations, data collection, a review of newspaper archives, and interviews with administrators and staff at the institutions. They also consulted national and international regulations and specialized literature to analyze the impacts on different types of heritage: immovable, documentary, funerary, and archaeological.

The main outcome was the creation of a consolidated record of the state of cultural institutions before and after the 2017 Coastal El Niño, identifying damage, institutional responses, and prevention needs. This work allowed for the formulation of recommendations to address and prevent future damage caused by weather events, contributing to the management of heritage and cultural institutions through university education. Furthermore, the report transcended the academic sphere and was disseminated publicly, including through Radio Cutivalú, helping to highlight the importance of incorporating culture and heritage into prevention and reconstruction policies.