Murcia information
From the Malecon to the Auritorium
The Malecon footbridge, work of Manterola, represents a lighthouse
on a quay. It crosses the river from the Plano de San Francisco
to the Plaza de la Ciencia, which takes its name from the Science
and Water Museum, situated in one of the huge cistens which were
used to hold the city´s water supplies; the museum specializies
in displays to do with water, the solar system and interactive
exhibits aimed at the young. There is a children´s planetarium
and there are temporary themed exhibitions. Near the museum are
the walls of the old Artillery Barracks, which can be reached
down the Calle Cartagena. Behind the guardroom and the amin gateway
is a magnificent parade ground, surrounded by four three- storey
buildings and shady gardens; the whole area is due to be made
over to the city, with cultural, entertainment and sports facilities
to be set up.
Calle Caballero run as far as the Avenida de Floridablanca, and
from there to the Gonzalez Conde square, formerly known as the
Half Moon, it is only a few steps. Although there is no evidence
to support it, local historians believe that the Alhariella mosque
and then the Hermitage of San Benito originally stood on the site
of the church of El Carmen. It is true that the Carmelite friars
established themselves in the vicinity in 1586. Rebuilt on several
occasions, work on the church was begun in 1721 under the orders
of the Carmelite architect Jose Hover. Two towers flank the main
door, and inside is the venerated carving of the Inmaculate Conception
by Salzillo and the Christ of the Sacred Blood, work of Nicolas
de Bussy, which stands in the Museum of the Sacred Blood where
we can admire the wood carvings belonging to the Confraternity
of the Precious Blood, carried out by Roque López, Nicolás
de Bussy, González Moreno, Dorado, Hernández Navarro
and Sánchez Lozano.
The El Carmen quarter grew up from the hamlet of San Benito, lying
on the right bank of the River Segura, near the Carmelite and
Capuchin convents. The economic growth which took place towards
the middle of the 18th century, which brought the paving and lighting
of the streets, the building of the highroad to El Pal mar, the
Reguerón flood prevention channel and the Puente Viejo,
1740, encouraged citizens to move over from the other bank. This
way the time when the leafy avenues were laid out, with fairs
and markets held in their shade. Diáz Cassou recalled that
in the winter of 1787 one of them was set up between the Convents
of El Carmen and the Capuchins: it was in the forerunner of the
Floridabla gardens, the most beautiful in the city and the first
public gardens to be opened in Spain. Recently refurbished, it
now displays once more the Moorish philosophy of garden design
with flowerbeds in line, the murmur of running water and an avenue
of poplars, which recalls the original tree-, lined walks. A rose
garden containing 1,400 bushes lends colour and scent, along with
many rosemary, broom, jasmines, lavender and myrtle bushes, the
“arrayán” of the Moors who gave Murcia its
name. There are groves of bamboo, with patches of light and shade,
ferns, yellow broom, Sparta grass, rockroses and “ruscos”,
a local plant to be found wild in the Espula mountains. Opened
in 1848, the garden was named after the Count of Floridablanca,
whose statue, the work of Santiago Baglieto, The Matadero gateway
that used to stand in the Plaza de la Paja lends importance to
the garden. Through it we come to the Marqués de Camachos
square, work of the ubiquitous Jaime Bort, who planned it for
bullfighting, giving the houses private balconies for the ecclesiastical
and municipal authorities. It was opened in 1759 with a bullfight,
when the San Benito quarter was composed almost entirely of farmland
and garden plots. Now, edged with mulberry trees, it keeps its
original shape and the Camachos archway which leads through to
the Molinos del Rio Hydraulic Museum, set up in the famous mill
with its 24 stones, which in 1808 replaced the former mills known
as El Batán and Las Coronas; memories of the water mills
which used to dot the surrounding market gardening area are to
be found in the millstones and machinery and tools for grinding
com. The neighbouring Sala de las Caballerizas surprise us with
its handsome dome and stone arches: exhibitions are held from
time to time.
Until 1901, when the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) was opened, the
Puente Viejo, also known as the Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge),
only joined the El Carmen quarter to the rest of city. Toribio
Martínez de la Vega, the Toen Council´s Master Mason,
began work on it in 1718 and within three months the foundations
were already laid, but lack of funding meant that work did not
conclude until Jaime Bort arrived on the scene in 1740, when the
bridge was finally opened. A good view of the city can be had
from the Puente Viejo, where an effigy of the Virgin de los Peligros
(Virgen of Dangers) watches over her devotees as they cross the
bridge from a neoclassical altar piece by Cayetano Ballester.
On the evening of Holy Wednesday, as nightfalls, the famous procession
known because of the bright colour of the robes of the penitents
as “The Reds” leaves the church of El Carmen. The
guild was founded in 1411 and is the oldest in Murcia; between
1701 and 1744, because the old wooden bridge was considered unsafe,
it left temporality from the church of Santa Eulalia. Locals love
to watch the procession as it crosses the Puente Viejo once darkness
has fallen: the lifesize carved figures are reflected in the waters
with their lamps like bunches of grapes.
But any days is a good day to learn over the balustrades of the
Puente Viejo and admire the lovely view: the Malecón, the
Manterola footbridge, the Plano de San Francisco, the Glorieta
with the City Hall, the former Bishop´s Palace, the Cathedral
tower, the former Theological College, the Convalecencia building
and the spectacular road and footbridges designed by Santiago
Calatrava. All along the river side, downstream, a sort of traffic
free “green corridor” has been planned, ideal for
strolling under shady eucalyptus, palm trees and jacarandas which
line the river banks. On your way you will come upon the modern,
welcoming quarters of the city, with their wide avenues and gardens,
inviting you to sit and rest a while. Beyond the ultra- modern
Hospital road bridge and Jorge Manrique footbridgelies the remarkable
silhouette of the Concert hall and Congress complex, rising like
the prow of a ship from the riverside, work of the architects
García de Paredes and García Pedrosa, and clad in
stone from Arabán. Its two main halls hold 1,800 and 500
spectators respectively. It stands on the very edge of the city:
beyond nothing is to be seen but the deep green of citrus trees.