Alicante Museums
The CAPA Collection
The CAPA Collection is the most complete collection of contemporary
Spanish sculpture on exhibition in the world. The works, dating
from the 19th and 20th century and by artists of the calibre of
Benlliure, Macho, Inurria, Oteiza, Dalí, etc, are distributed
throughout the halls and open-air installations of Santa Barbara
Castle.
Provincial Archaeological Museum (MARQ)
Located in the old Hospital San Juan de Dios and constructed in
1930, the premises occupy a surface area of 9,000m2.
The extremely valuable collection housed here consists of 81,000
pieces dating from the Stone Age to the Medieval times, the most
important piece among them being the Lady of Guardamar from the
Iberian settlement of Cabezo Lucero. In May 2002 new exhibition
rooms and halls were inaugurated. Also guided tours on request.
Access for the handicapped.
La Asegurada Collection
The collection of contemporary art donated by Eusebio Sempere
takes its name from the building in which it is exhibited, dating
from 1685.
Paintings, sculptures, mixed technique and lithographs by Spanish
artists such as Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Dalí, Picasso,
Zóbel, Tàpies, Chillida, Gargallo and non-Spanish
artists such as Agam, Calder, Chagall, Kandinsky, Vasarely, etc.
Lonja del Pescado
Inaugurated in 1992 as an exhibition hall and enlarged in December
2000, this curious building with clear Arabic influences dates
from the beginning of the 20th century and was designed by the
engineer Próspero in the Historicist style. At one time
a fish market, it formed an important part of the port installations
in the so-called Zona de Poniente. Its generous length and height
makes it ideal for the celebration of large art exhibitions as
well as other artistic, literary and charity events, festivals,
etc.
Gravina Fine Arts Museum - MUBAG
Situated within the Gravina Palace, which was built during the
17th and 18th centuries, this recently opened Museum of Fine Arts
exhibits some 500 pieces dating from the Middle Ages up until
1920. The exhibition includes the works of such important artists
as Rodrigo de Osona, Salzillo, Vicente López, Antonio Gisbert,
Joaquín Agrasot, Xavier Soler, Eusebio Sempere and Emilio
Varela among others. The Museum also has an auditorium, a permanent
exhibition lounge about the history of the building as well as
a temporary exhibition lounge.
Nativity Scene Museum
Located in a typical house in the Old Quarter of Alicante dating
from the first half of the 19th century, this Museum of Christmas
Cribs contains a collection of Christmas dioramas, examples of
Christmas nativity scenes from Spain, Europe, Asia and Africa,
all kinds of objects related to Christmas and a life-sized nativity
scene.
Water Museum - Pozos de Garrigós
Wells carved into the rock in order to collect water to supply
the townspeople.
The wells were excavated in the 16th century to collect rainwater
to supply the townspeople. Below the "pozos" we can
visit the Water Museum, a curious collection of traditional ceramic
recipients for water, typical local pottery items.
Municipal Archives
Housed in a mansion dating from the 18th century, the municipal
archives hold the remains of a late-Roman necropolis dating from
the 6th to 8th centuries A.D.
There are manuscripts dating from the 12th century and important
documents regarding the town's history, such as the granting of
a town charter to Alicante by Ferdinand II (el Católico)
in 1490. There is also a newspaper archive dating from the 19th
century and a photo archive.
Alicante Bullfighting Museum
Exhibits a permanent display dedicated to the most renowned local
bullfighters including Vicente Blau, Francisco Antón, José
María Manzanares and Luis Francisco Esplá among
others.
The museum also has a library, a conference room and exhibition
lounge, together with an audiovisual room in which discussion
groups, slide shows and talks about bullfighting are held.
Museum of the University of Alicante
The MUA specialises exclusively in Contemporary Art and carries
out research activities in this area as well as the production,
conservation, documentation, diffusion and teaching of this art.
The Museum bases its activity on the dissemination of historic-artistic
heritage, the presentation of research results obtained on the
University of Alicante campus and the diffusion of 21st century
artistic works with particular focus on the most modernist forms
of expression.
The Hogueras Museum
The Hogueras Museum is located in the Casa de la Festa building
where the two streets Rambla de Méndez Núñez
and Teniente Álvarez Soto meet.
This recently opened museum is dedicated to Alicante´s most
popular festivals: the Hogueras de San Juan. Here, we can find
a great exhibition of photographs from throughout the years, the
so-called Ninots indultats, or Saved Statues, a collection of
traditional costumes, advertising posters, etc. as well as an
audio-visual hall.