Murcia, situated in the hot coastal plain of southeastern Spain, is the chief town of its province and the seat of a university. The fertile Huerta de Murcia, in which fruit and vegetables flourish, supplies a large canning industry. Murcia was the birthplace of the sculptor Francisco Salzillo or Zarcillo (1707-83), whose works are to be seen in many churches.
History
The Moorish town of Mursiya was founded by Abderrahman II about 830. From 1224 Murcia and the surrounding area became an independent Moorish kingdom (taifa), which was conquered by Castile only nineteen years later. During the War of the Spanish Succession the huerta round the town was flooded to defend it against attack by Austrian troops. In 1936, during the Civil War, many churches in the town were set on fire or otherwise destroyed.
The Semana Santa celebrations in Murcia are among the most famous religious festivals in Spain, with impressive nocturnal processions in which pasos by Francisco Salzillo are carried round the town. Particularly striking is the procession on the morning of Good Friday.
A short distance south of the cathedral, on the street along the left bank of the Río Segura, is the Glorieta de España, a beautiful public garden with the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) on its northern side. At its west end is the Plaza de Martínez Tornel, from which Murcia's main traffic artery, the Gran Vía del Escultor Salzillo, runs north. To the west of the Plaza de Martínez Tornel are the Plano de San Francisco and beyond this the Paseo del Malecón, a promenade along the embankment offering no shade from summer sun.
To the north of the Plaza de Santo Domingo, in the Casa de Cultura, the Archeological Museum houses prehistoric, Iberian, Greek and Roman antiquities and a collection of pottery, including in particular Moorish ware.
Address: Museo de Arqueología, Calle Gran Vía Alfonso X, El Sabio 9, Murcia , Spain
Hours:
July 1 to August 31: 9am-1:30pm; Closed: Sun, Sat
September 1 to June 30: 9am-2pm, 5pm-8pm; Sat:11am-2pm, 5pm-8pm; Closed: Sun, Sat, Sun
From the cathedral, Calle de la Trapería, once Murcia's main street, runs north through the old town. Together with Calle de la Platería, which branches off it on the left, it is the heart of a busy pedestrian zone well provided with shops.
The most interesting of the numerous churches in the western districts of the town are San Nicolás, in the Plaza Mayor, with a Baroque interior and sculpture by Alonso Cano, Pedro de Mena and Salzillo, and San Miguel, adjoining the Jardín de San Esteban, which has several figures on the altar by Salzillo and his family workshop.
One of the most striking buildings in Calle de la Trapería is a gentleman's club built in the 19th and 20th centuries, with an Arab-style patio, a restaurant, a glazed gallery, a billiard room, a ballroom and a library.
The Museo Internacional del Traje Folklórico, which has a collection of traditional costumes from all over Spain, is due to move to new premises, not yet determined.
From the Plaza de Santo Domingo, Calle de la Merced runs east to the University, just beyond which, in Calle del Obispo Frutos, is the Museum of Art, with frescoes and pictures by the Murcia-born painter Nicolá Villacis (1616-94), a pupil of Velázquez, works by many local artists and pictures by Ribera, Degrain and Picasso.
In Plaza Santa Eulalia, south of the Museum of Art, Moorish and medieval town walls have been brought to light. Objects found in the excavations are to be displayed in the Museo de la Muralla Árabe which is due to open shortly.
Calle de la Trapería ends in the Plaza de Santo Domingo, with the handsome twin-towered church of Santo Domingo (17th-18th C.). Behind it, to the west, is the Teatro Romea.
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Cathedral de Santa María
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Cathedral de Santa María, Murcia
Cathedral de Santa María, Murcia
Cathedral de Santa María, Murcia
Murcia
