State-run hotels

giving travellers the opportunity to discover the local traditions, culture and environmental diversity.

A number of experiences have been made available at both Paradors including a workshop on how to cultivate pistachios and olives and uncover their health benefits, a visit to an eco­friendly farm, home of the Castilian black hen which is currently in danger of extinction, and a wine tour that highlights the link between the product and nature and includes a tasting of artisan wines and regional tapas.

For more information head to paradores.es

Iconic fashion designer dies

THE iconic Spanish fashion designer Paco Rabanne, real name Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, has died aged 88.

A French news source reported Rabanne’s death on Friday, February 3 in the French town of Porstall, where he lived.

Rabanne, who hailed from San Sebastian, was a pioneer on the catwalks in the use of materials such as metal, plastic and paper, joined by welds and rivets. The son of the chief seamstress of the design­ er Balenciaga and the colonel of the Republican forces, Francisco Rabaneda Postigo, he was born in 1934.

Rabanne, who had experienced somewhat of a renaissance following the death of Pierre Cardin in 2020, was also renowned for some unusual views but was by all accounts well­liked by villagers in his adopted home town.

In recent years Rabanne is said to have kept a low profile enjoying the restaurants of the region.