May 16 Museums Day in Totana

A range of free guided tours and other activities in and around the centre of Totana

The town of Totana in south-west Murcia may not have the wealth of museums and historical buildings which can be found in the cities of Murcia, Lorca and Cartagena, but even so there is an attractive selection of free events taking place on Saturday 16^th May to celebrate Museums Day!

10.00 and 11.00: Free guided tours of the municipal cemetery – far from being a morbid or ghoulish event, this is a journey through local history dating back to the 19^th century, led by the official Chronicler of Totana, Juan Cánovas Mulero. Along the way you can learn about historic figures such as General Aznar and Gregorio Parra as well as aspects of history which affected Totana and the rest of Spain, including the devastating flu epidemic of 1918.

10.00: Two simultaneous tours of La Bastida, the largest site yet found relating to the Argaric Culture which flourished in south-east of the Iberian Peninsula around 4,500 years ago.

19.00 and 20.00: Two tours of the bell tower of the church of Santiago in the town centre, with information about some of the mysteries of this unique structure.

19.00 to 20.00: Two chances to see the museum collection of the Policía Local in the company of Andrés Martín.

20.45: Live music from the Low Brass Quartet in the building which used to be home to the Centro Tecnológico de Artesanía. The group consists of young local musicians.

21.00: Life and Death in Las Cabezuelas, a talk given by José Antonio González Guerao, Juan Antonio Ramírez Águila and María Inés Fregeiro Morador as they reveal some of the astonishing findings at last summer’s archaeological dig at the Iberian site, which dates from between 2,000 and 2,700 years ago. Among them were the bodies of two men which seem to indicate the existence of a burial ground.

22.00: A visit to the laboratories of the Centro Tecnológico de la Artesanía in the El Saladar industrial estate.

Further information is available from the tourist office of Totana (telephone 968 421720 / 968 420112, e mail Email: turismo@ayto-totana.net), and for more local information join our south-west Murcia Facebook group!

For more upcoming events in the Region of Murcia go to the What’s on section of Murcia Today.