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The outlying rural villages that lie around Lorca already had plenty to offer visitors, from the inland river beach in Coy and the ancient ruined castle of Xiquena in La Parroquia to the coastal attractions of Puntas de Calnegre and the 300-year-old structures in Zarzadilla de Totana.

 

But now the small diputation of Río, just to the northwest of Lorca city, has a brand-new mural on the façade of the social local and association of neighbours and women of Río which aims to be a new tourist attraction for the locality.

 

The new mural depicts the agricultural traditions and history of Río to “reflect the customs, trades and natural, cultural and intangible heritage” of the area.

 

The theme includes allusions to the first settlers of Río, who focused on agriculture, with some small irrigated orchards, located on the banks of the Guadalentín River, with orange and lemon trees, lettuce plantations and, above all, tomato plants.

 

The final image also recalls the sulphur exploitation of the Sierra de La Serrata, whose furnaces are still preserved with a yellowish reflection as a result of the mineral and ‘El salto’, which was part of the Canal de Aguas Claras and which connected the reservoir of the Puentes Reservoir directly with the ‘Casa Mata’ and which used to be a place of recreation and enjoyment for locals during hot summer days.

 

Adding this mural as a new site to visit in Río is part of several actions carried out by the ayuntamiento city hall of Lorca, by way of the Local Action Group CAMPODER, in an attempt to adapt and optimise existing “infrastructure and services in various districts of the municipality through innovative actions aimed at revitalising those enclaves furthest from the town centre”.

 

The city council assures that this will serve to “promote territorial balance and the development of rural areas, with a view to offering, in addition, greater social welfare for its neighbours, in a municipality characterised especially by its large territorial extension”.

 

Other murals achieve the same ends in Almendricos, Campillo, Campo López (Carrasquilla), El Consejero (Parrilla), Aguaderas and Cazalla, “promoting their identity and at the same time making them attractive to potential tourists who want to know a little more about these areas of the municipality of Lorca, which have their own historical and cultural heritage”.

 

The project has also involved the participation of the local residents of these areas themselves, as they came together to choose between several different sketches drawn up on the theme established for each area, as brought to life by artist Iván Molina.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Lorca