Ampudia (Palencia): Classic and Efficient Lighting for a Reference Historic Ensemble in Castilla y León

AMPUDIA — 12/12/2025 — Ampudia, declared a Historic-Artistic Ensemble and considered one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Castilla y León, has completed the modernization of its entire outdoor lighting system with ATP Iluminación’s LED technology. The project, funded through the IDAE DUS 5000 Program under the European Union–NextGenerationEU Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, aims to reduce light pollution, improve energy efficiency, and reinforce the nighttime identity of a site of great architectural and cultural value.

A Historic Setting with Its Own Identity

Located in the Tierra de Campos region, Ampudia preserves a medieval urban layout and exceptional heritage. Its 15th-century castle, the Collegiate Church of San Miguel, arcaded streets, and traditional adobe and timber houses form a homogeneous urban landscape of high cultural richness. Its human scale, visual perspectives, and material continuity throughout the historic center make lighting a key element for ensuring functionality without disturbing the town’s characteristic atmosphere.

The project was conceived precisely with this premise: to renew the lighting installation while maintaining Ampudia’s visual identity, enhancing it at the most historically significant points, and providing a coherent lighting system respectful of its heritage sensitivity.

Villa XLA: Aesthetic Integration and Technical Performance at 2700 K

The town center is now illuminated with 407 Villa XLA luminaires with Confort® Diffuser at a color temperature of 2700 K, providing warm, pleasant light that blends seamlessly with the earthy and golden tones of the local architecture. The Villa XLA’s classic design naturally harmonizes with the town’s image without introducing contrasting elements that could disrupt the overall visual cohesion.

The selected optics achieve lighting and uniformity levels far superior to the previous system while keeping the original placement of light points. The Confort® Diffuser also provides excellent vertical and semi-cylindrical illuminances, essential for the correct perception of faces, facades, and pedestrian routes. This lighting treatment ensures a safer, more comfortable nighttime experience while respecting the historic aesthetics of the urban center.

The installed power—mostly 35 W, regulated down to 30 W—contributes to significant energy savings without compromising lighting quality.

Heritage-Focused Approach: 2200 K at the Collegiate Church and Plaza de San Miguel

Culturally significant areas receive a specific lighting treatment. The Collegiate Church of San Miguel, a major example of Castilian Gothic-Renaissance architecture, is illuminated with Aire® Series 5 and Aire® Series 3 floodlights at 2200 K, an even warmer color temperature that highlights volumes and textures without causing glare or inappropriate color casts on the stone.

Plaza de San Miguel uses the same warm tone, creating a more intimate nighttime environment consistent with the monumental character of the site. This chromatic differentiation allows the heritage landmarks to stand out from the rest of the town and guides visual reading of the urban fabric without imposing excessive hierarchies or breaking the aesthetic unity of the historic center.

Efficiency, Light Control, and Energy Reduction

The modernization of the system is expected to reduce energy consumption by over 65%, a figure that will be validated by the City Council through final records. This improvement stems from both the efficiency of the LED luminaires and the optical optimization and power reduction without sacrificing lighting quality.

Precise flux control prevents unnecessary over-illumination and reduces the environmental impact associated with glare and light spill into the night sky.

Technical Robustness and Long-Term Durability

The luminaires used in Ampudia are made with ATP’s exclusive polymeric materials, fully resistant to corrosion, ultraviolet radiation, and the extreme thermal cycles characteristic of the Castilian plateau. IP66+ sealing, IK10+ mechanical resistance, and structural immunity to overvoltage ensure stable operation for decades without maintenance, dramatically lowering the municipality’s life-cycle cost.

A comprehensive 10-year warranty supports these performance claims, providing long-term technical and budgetary security.

A Lighting Model in Service of Heritage

The Ampudia project exemplifies how technology can be integrated into a historic environment without altering its essential character. The choice of classic luminaires, chromatic differentiation in monumental sites, and careful light flux control provide a solution that is respectful, efficient, and aesthetically coherent with a town that has preserved its identity over centuries.

With this project, Ampudia joins other municipalities advancing toward a sustainable, heritage-sensitive lighting model, where technical quality and respect for the urban landscape combine to create safer, more beautiful, and comfortable nighttime spaces.

A Project Funded by the DUS 5000 Program

The Ampudia project was made possible thanks to funding from IDAE’s DUS 5000 Program, part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. This program, aimed at sustainable urban development in municipalities facing demographic challenges, promotes interventions that reduce light pollution, improve energy efficiency, and foster territorial cohesion.

The modernization of Ampudia’s public lighting fully aligns with these objectives, becoming an exemplary case of how clean energy investments can enhance heritage, improve quality of life, and reduce the environmental impact of rural towns.